Going Back To hell
by Night Riders
Summary: Alex sunk to his knees and stared at the house in horror. Flames of red, hot, fire were devouring his home... and his family. He ran towards the burning house with only one thought on his mind. It's all my fault!
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everybody! This is my first fanfic and I hope you all enjoy it. So without further ado, here is my story.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Alex Rider or any of the characters.**

* * *

"Where are you going, Alex?" Edward Pleasure walked into the living room with an expression of concern plastered on his face.

Fifteen year old Alex Rider turned to face his adoptive father and responded quietly, "I'm going to the park. Don't worry. I'll be back soon." Alex gave him a reassuring smile and stepped out into the fresh spring air. He took a deep breath and headed  
out to the park. It was a lovely day.

Alex has been living with the Pleasures for about a month now. They were kind and loving and had accepted him right into the family. They knew he needed time to heal from his last mission so they gave him his space and didn't bother him and Alex was immensely  
grateful for that. He didn't think that he would be able to heal but the Pleasures were trying so hard to make him feel better so he didn't tell them that. He didn't need to worry them with something else. They already seemed to panic every time he  
went out. But Alex couldn't really blame them for that. With his past, he could get kidnapped or shot at for all they knew. But Alex was a very careful person and was always alert even though MI6 had kept their promise and left him alone.

Although he would never admit it, he missed London. He missed his house in Chelsea and his crazy neighbors and Brookland and most of all, his friends. But they weren't his friends anymore. He had pushed them all away before going to America in fear that  
they might get shot like Tom did. _Tom._ How he missed him! But he had pushed him away as well. He didn't want him getting hurt again and refused to listen to any of his best friend's protests about how he was fine. Alex smiled at the memory.  
Tom was at his house and was talking while Alex packed.

* * *

 _"Alex, come on! It's not like the bullet hit anything major. Look! I've made a full recovery!" Tom waved his arm wildly to emphasize his point._

 _Alex stood up straight and look his best friend in the eye. "It doesn't matter. You were still hurt because of me and I'm not letting it happen again. Jack_ died _because of me and I'm not letting that happen to you. It's better if we don't keep in touch. That way I'll know your safe."_

 _The expression on Tom's face was one of great tried to stop the tears from flowing down but failed. He hugged his friend tightly and sobbed into his shoulder. The two had done everything together and Tom didn't want it to end. He didn't want to say goodbye. Once he had quieted down, he pulled back and looked at Alex with determination in his eyes. "I don't care what happened, Alex, but I want you to call me once every two weeks."_

 _"Tom..." Alex began but Tom interrupted him. "No, Alex. A lot of shit has happened but that doesn't mean that we have to lose contact. We're best friends, Alex. Please. If you won't visit and won't let me visit you, then at least call."_

 _Alex sighed. There was no point of arguing could be so stubborn sometimes. "Fine. I promise to call once every two weeks. Anyway, I've got to go now. Talk to you soon, Tom. Stay safe."_

 _"You too." Tom replied, smiling sadly. He gave his friend one last with that farewell, Alex left to his new home in America._

* * *

Alex reached the park and sat down on one of the benches. There were lots of kids there with their families. Some were having picnics and some were playing games. Alex look up at the clouds and sighed. He liked the Pleasures and he might be able to adjust  
to the new changes but he wanted to go back to England. But he knew he couldn't. Jack was gone. _"And it's because of me she's gone,"_ a small voice in his head told him. The guilt hung over him with every step he took and he wished he could  
go back in time to the wonderful days when he used to go to the movies with her and the days when they spent the day indoors and played pranks on each other. God, he missed her so much. If he hadn't been such an idiot, then she wouldn't be d..d..

Alex couldn't say it. His mind traveled back to when Razim had strapped him to a chair and he watched as the car blew up and...

 _"No," he thought firmly."I have to stop thinking about her."_

Alex looked towards the street as a fire truck raced by. He wondered whose house was on fire. Alex turned his head. He was able to see the top of house from the park but he froze when he saw flames licking the top of his house and smoke polluting the  
air.

Alex stood up and ran to his house, no, his _home,_ as quickly as his legs could carry him. When he got there, there were lots of firefighters trying to quench the fire but to little avail. The were also lots of people watching the fire. News reporters  
and police officers were everywhere. Alex sunk to his knees and stared at the house in horror. Flames of red, hot fire were devouring his home... and his family. Alex couldn't stand to look at it so he looked down at the ground.

After a few minutes, Alex realized that someone was standing next to him. He looked up but the man's face was covered. He dropped a piece of paper into Alex's lap and walked away. Alex's eyes widened in shock and fear as he read the six little words he  
never wanted to see.

 _Scorpia never forgives. Scorpia never forgets._

When Alex looked back up, the man was gone. It was too much for Alex to take. His grief burst out and sobs raked his body. And for once, he hated having the Rider luck. He wished he was with them when it happened. He wished he was dead as well.

Alex got up shakily.

He steadied himself and ran as fast as he could into the fire, completely ignoring the shouts behind him.

* * *

 **Ooohhh, a cliffhanger! I understand if any of you hate me. I hate cliffhangers as well. Anyway, like I said before, this is my first fanfic and pointers would be lovely. Also, if I have any spelling, grammar, etc. errors, please tell me. I'd like to know if any of you are reading this and I'm not just writing for nothing. I** _ **am**_ **going to finish this story but reviews will make me update faster. So please review and constructive criticism is always welcome. I'd like to know what you all think of the first chapter.**

 **Rider fan 4ever**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi everyone! I'm back and I've got the second chapter of** _ **Going Back To Hell.**_ **Hope you all enjoy this chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I still don't own any of the characters.**

* * *

 _Alex steadied himself and ran as fast as he could into the fire, completely ignoring the shouts behind him._

* * *

Everyone stared in horror as they saw a young boy run towards the house. Police officers shouted at him to come back while the firefighters tried to extinguish the fire around him but to little avail. All they did was give Alex a way to get _into_ the  
/house.

The first thing Alex felt when he stepped in was the intense heat the fire was giving off. He had barely been in there for a few seconds and all the hair on his arms had been singed off. He began to regret this. This was the most painful way to die. But  
/he had already gone this far. He wasn't going to turn back now. A few steps later and Alex found what he was looking for.

There was a huge wall of fire where the kitchen had once been. But he couldn't jump in. He was burning. He could barely stand. His vision was blurry and black dots started to dance around in front of him. He fell to his knees and covered his face withhis  
hands. Alex began to crawl back the way he came from but the fire had sprung up quickly from behind him. He was trapped. There was no way to get out. The number of black dots doubled and then tripled and a moment later, Alex was out cold.

* * *

All he could see was white. He didn't know where he was. He didn't remember how he had got here or what happened. He turned around in a full circle to see if there was anything else in this place but the white seemed to stretch out for miles in every  
sat down and brought his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. He tried to remember what happened.

Suddenly, it dawned on him. The Pleasures, the firefighters, him running into the burning house...

The memories came washing over him and he was able to remember everything. Images of the fire and Pleasures flitted through his mind and the guilt of what had happened was becoming unbearable.

But... he had run into the house as well. He couldn't feel any pain, so was he dead? And what was this place? Heaven? Alex wondered why there was nobody...

There! He heard a noise. Alex stopped and listened, straining his ears for another sound. But it didn't come again. Maybe he was imagining things. He heard it again. Now he was sure he wasn't imagining it. Someone was speaking. But the voice was sodistant  
and he couldn't make out any words. He waited a bit longer. The voice was becoming louder and now there were more voices joining in. The white around him was slowly disappearing as the voices grew louder and closer. Alex was now ableto make  
out some words.

"He's awake"

"Get...doctor...up"

One of the voices sounded very familiar but Alex couldn't remember where he had heard it. He had no idea what was going on and where he was, but he was sure of one thing. He wasn't dead. Meaning he had jumped into a _burning house_ for no  
/reason at all. _"Just great,"_ he thought sarcastically.

Alex opened his eyes and shut them quickly as a bright light temporarily blinded him. The familiar voice he had heard before said gently, "It's okay. I'm covering the light. You can open your eyes."

And Alex did. The figure slowly moved out of his line of sight and Alex waited until he had become adjusted to the light before sitting up slowly. He had a headache but other than that, he felt no pain. He took a look around the room and groaned inwardlyas  
he recognized where he was. A hospital. Well, at least he knew why there was no pain. There was an IV in his arm. They gave him painkillers but he was probably going to feel the pain later. He could already feel the effect of the painkillerswearing  
off.

"I see you're awake. That's great! I'm Dr. Tanner." The doctor was holding a clipboard in one hand and he extended his other hand out to Alex.

"Alex Rider," Alex nodded respectfully and shook the doctor's hand.

"How are you feeling, Alex?"

"I've got a headache but otherwise, there's no pain."

Dr. Tanner nodded. "That would be the painkillers' doing. Now if you don't mind, I have a few questions for you to answer." The doctor asked Alex his age, where he lives, and a whole bunch of other questions doctors usually ask.

When the doctor finished, Alex asked the questions that he had been wanting to ask."What happened and how long have I been here exactly?"

"One day. You remeber what happened before you became unconscious?" He waited until Alex nodded before continuing. "The firefighters managed to extinguish the fire and retreive you but you were in a bad state. You had cuts and bruises on your armsand  
legs but those will heal quickly. However, you have three degree burns,but you were brought here quickly enough for us to tend to your injuries. We've stitched up some cuts and have done all we could. Don't do any strenuous activitiesfor  
a couple of days and you will make a full recovery. Wewill give you a bottle of painkillers just in case."

Alex nodded in understanding. Dr. Tanner had been doing some checks on him while explaining and Alex waited until he was done before asking another question."When will I be discharged?"

"We'd like you to spend the night here but you can leave tomorrow morning," he answered. The doctor stood up to leave but he turned around when he was at the doorway. "You have a visitor. Would you like to see him?"

Alex nodded and the doctor left. _Him_. Alex wondered who was visiting him but his question was answered a moment later when the person walked in and sat on the chair by his bed with a grin on his face. Alex gaped at the man and blinked a few  
/times to make sure he wasn't imagining things.

" _Ben!"_ He exclaimed. "What are you doing here?!"

Ben Daniels chuckled. "I heard what happened and came here right away. I was worried about you."

Alex smiled and a warm feeling spread through his body. He was touched by Ben's actions but it still didn't stop him from saying, "I bet you just wanted to get away from work!"

Ben grinned before his expression turned to mock surprise. "How did you know?!" Alex laughed. Ben leaned forward and ruffled Alex's hair. He suddenly became serious and said, "You were on the news. Everyone saw what happened."

Alex turned his head. He didn't want to talk about this. He realized what he had done wasn't the smartest thing ever and he did truly regret it. He didn't want to tell Ben that he had attempted to commit suicide. Ben would think he was weak and thatwas  
one thing Alex wasn't.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" Ben asked softly.

Alex still refused to meet his eyes and wouldn't answer. When it was obvious that Alex wouldn't answer, Ben sighed. "I'm not going to pretend like I know what you've been through but I think I have an idea of what happened there although I hope I'mwrong  
but Alex, if you ever need help or just want someone to talk to, I promise I'll always be here for you. I love you, Alex, and I care about you a lot."

Alex turned to look at Ben and whispered softly,"Thanks." The older spy ran his hand through Alex's messy, blonde hair. Silence descended over them. "Mrs. Jones is here to see you." Ben said abruptly. Alex groaned. "Great. Just what I needed," hesaid  
exasperated.

Ben chuckled and gave Alex a brief, one armed hug. "I'll go call her. See you soon, Al."

Almost immediately after Ben left, Mrs. Jones walked in. She opened ther mouth to speak but Alex cut across her. "I'm going to take a wild guess and say that you want to know what happened." Irritation was evident in his voice. Mrs. Jones raised andeyebrow  
at him but nodded. Alex quickly explained what happened but didn't say that he had ran into the house. Alex finished speaking and Mrs. Jones wrote a couple more things on her paper before saying," And how come you ran into the house?Youmusthave  
known that the Pleasures were already dead." Alex was taken aback by that. She had said it so bluntly. It was like she didn't even care. Alex suddenly became angry. His face and voicebecame devoid of emotion as he said,"That is noneof your business."

Mrs. Jones nodded and stood up. "Ben will come tomorrow morning and once you are discharged, you will both come back to London. We have taken your uncle's house off the market. As soon you arrive, go to the bank. Blunt wants to talk to you." She turnedon  
her heels and swifly left the room.

* * *

Two days later, Alex found himself sitting in front of Alan Blunt. Blunt didn't say anything about the incident in America and Alex was both grateful and annoyed for it. Blunt, like always, didn't bother with greetings and cut straight to the point.

"You dismantled Scorpia in your last mission but it seems that there are a couple of people who wish to see you dead. We will try to work out a deal with them so they will leave you alone. In the meantime, you will go to the safest place on  
Beacons."

Alex opened his mouth to say that he probably wouldn't be safe in Brecon Beacons but Blunt knew this and didn't give him a chance to speak. "I am _not_ giving you a choice. You will stay with your old unit. The Sergeant has timetable. You willleave  
in one week. Any questions."

"Are you going to give anyone my file?" Alex asked.

"All information about you is classified. All they know is that an MI6 agent will stay there for protection."

"Good!" Alex exclaimed and made to go to the door but Blunt called him again. "Yes," Alex raised an eyebrow at him. "Pack light," he said emotionlessly. Alex nodded and left.

" _Looks like I'm going back to hell,"_ he thought with dread.

* * *

 **And finally, the second chapter is done. To be honest, I don't like this chapter. There isn't a lot of action and my writing is horrible. But I'm not giving up. I'll try to make up for it in the next chapter. Anyway, thanks to the people who took the time to write a review. About the first chapter, I am truly sorry about all the mistakes. I made sure that there were none before publishing but then when I next checked it, it was ruined. I don't know what happened. I went back and edited it and hopefully it will** _ **stay**_ **fixed this time. I haven't had my account for long and I haven't quite understood everything about it. But when I find out why it keeps messing up, I'll try to fix the problem and it will hopefully go smooth sailing from there. Anyway, you all now know that Alex is going to go to Brecon Beacons, but I was wondering whether you guys want the sergeant and k-unit to know who he is or not. So please review and the next chapter will come soon.**

 **Rider fan 4ever**


	3. Chapter 3

**IHey people! I'm back. I'm only on the third chapter and I'm almost ready to give up. My stubborness is the only thing stopping me from quitting. I NEED reviews. I need to know what you all think. But the mistakes are becoming increasingly frustrating. No matter what I write, I always make sure that there are no mistakes and seeing this much is getting annoying. But still, I REFUSE TO QUIT! Anyhow, here's the third chapter. I hope it'll be better than the second chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: All rights go to Anthony Horowitz.**

* * *

 _"Lools like I'm going back to hell," Alex thought with dread._

* * *

Alex closed the door quietly behind him and walked into a black car.

"ID!" Alex demanded to the driver. The driver showed Alex his ID without even a hint of annoyance showing at being bossed around by a child. He must have been used to being asked for his ID. Alex nodded his head in approval and leant back in his seat  
/asthe vehicle moved forward. It was a 2 hour car ride from his house to the SAS army camp in Wales. Alex didn't mind. He could use the time to think.

Something about the way Blunt acted was bothering him. He was being, not nice, but... Oh, he didn't know how to describe it. There was something off about him. Alex thought hard about what he said and then he got it.

Blunt said that he'd try to work out an agreement with Scorpia so they would leave him alone. But it wasn't like him to do something like that. Well, at least not to him. Blunt was an emotionless bastard. He only cared about his job and no one else. AndAlex  
/made a very good spy. Blunt wasn't too keen on the idea of leaving him alone. He was planning something else. Alex was sure of it. But what? Jack was gone. He couldn't blackmail him with someone else. Or could he? He _was_ going to aplacefilled  
/with people. But the soldiers treated him like dirt the last time he was there. Surely, they would treat him the same way.

Blunt said that the only thing they knew was that a MI6 agent was staying there for protection. They didn't know that _Cub_ was coming back. He looked different from when he was last here. He could see the difference whenever he looks in the  
/looks older, more mature, and if someone looks in his eyes, they would see his haunting brown orbs. But, did he look so different that no one would recognize him? Alex doubted it, but only time would tell.

They might treat him nicer if they think he is someone else. Blunt probably wanted him to go there so he would open up to the soldiers and become friends with them. And then, he would snatch Alex away from them and blackmail him to go on another mission.  
/Well,hewas certainly going to push them away if they tried to befriend him. And did Blunt seriously think that he would trust the people who once made it their mission to make his life a living hell?

Alex didn't know but now he had two reasons to avoid them. One, Blunt could use them as blackmail and two, the people Alex is close to usually get hurt and Alex didn't want that to happen to the soldiers, no matter how bad they treated him.

Now he knew how to act around them. Hard, cold, and emotionless. _"Just like Blunt,"_ Alex thought. But the thought of him becoming like Blunt was horrifying. _"Not like Blunt. More like an experienced agent who's seen many horrors and has seen countless of innocent people die,"_ he  
/amended. Thatwasn't exactly pleasant, but it was better than being like Blunt.

* * *

Eagle jumped up and down and exclaimed,"What do you think he's gonna be like? He's MI6's top agent so he's probably going to do all sorts of cool things. What do you think he's gonna be like, huh Wolfie?"

Said soldier growled in irritation and said,"For the hundreth time Eagle, _I don't know_ and if you _ever_ call me Wolfie again, I will end you!"

Eagle sighed and shut up... and started talking again a second later. He turned to Panther, Fox's replacement, and said," What about you, Coyote? You think he's going to be nice? We could become best friends!"

Coyote put down the book he was reading and said with a yawn," I don't know, but I hope he's nice. And I _hope_ he won't become your best friend. One Eagle is bad enough."

"Hey!" Eagle cried out indignantly. Coyotesmirked. "I'm not bad!"

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

"Are no.."

"Will you two stop acting like children and be quiet!" Wolf yelled out, clearly exasperated. And he thought one Eagle was bad enough. The soldiers sat on their own bunks and wisely remained silent until Snake piped up,"You know, Coyote, you're just as  
bad

asEagle."

Eagle burst out laughing at the look on Coyote's face. Coyotecomposed himself and glared at Eagle until he shut up. "I am nothing like Eagle!" He told Snake.

"Are too!" Eagle said.

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

 _"Shut up!"_

* * *

The car slowed down and came to a stop. He had arrived. He was so absorbed in his thoughts and the time flew by quickly. Alex stepped out and took his bag out of the trunk. The driver rolled down his window.

"Go straight to the Sergeant's office. He's waiting for you," the man said quickly.

Alex nodded and thanked the man. He watched the car until it was out of sight before turning around and making his way to the Sergeant's office. The place hadn't changed much. And it was still very muddy. It was getting dark out and only a couple of unitswere  
/still out. Dark clouds covered the sky. _"Probably going to rain soon,"_ Alex mused.

He reached the Sergeant's office and knocked once.

* * *

The Sergeant looked down at the paper he was holding. He had gotten the news that an agent was going to stay there a couple of days ago and it annoyed him. Most agents who stayed there didn't follow the rules because they were agents and not soldiersand  
/"could do whatever they want." Blunt had requested that the agent be put in with K-unit and he wondered why.

For a brief moment, he wondered if it was Cub but he dismissed the thought immediately. This was MI6's _top agent_ and Cub was just a child. Sergeant Wilson wondered what had happened to the kid. Even though he was listed as a member of K-unit,  
/he wasnever around. They hadn't seen him again. Well, except for the time when Wolf saw him in Point Blanc. _"The agent should be here soon,"_ the Sarge noted absently. And as if on cue, he heard a sharp knock on his door.

" _Enter!"_ He called out. The door opened and in came the agent. The first thing the Sergeant noticed was that the agent was _young._ He couldn't have been more than twenty. The agent had blonde hair and brown eyes. His face showed no emotion  
/and he was standing straight. And he was short. Only about 5' 10. There was something familar about him. He felt like he had seen him before. The Sarge blinked a few times before reverting back to the feared Sergeant he was.

* * *

Alex stepped in and stood to attention immediately. He waited until the Sergeant saluted back before relaxing a tiny bit. He fixed his gaze to a point above the Sergeant's shoulder and watched the Sarge scrutinize him from the corner of his eye. When  
/hefinished, he slammed his fists on the desk and stood up, but if he was hoping to scare Alex, he would have been disappointed. Alex didn't even flinch. A year ago, he might have been scared, but he's seen scarier things than a pissed off Sergeant  
/sincethen.

"Right! I was told that you will be staying here for a couple of weeks. You might be MI6's top agent, but you are now in my territory and must follow all rules! You will be detested by the soldiers, but that does NOT give you a reason to fight or bother  
/them. You will be treated like any other soldier and will have the samepunishments! I would love to bin you, but unfortunately, I can't! But if you cry, or can't keep up, than that's your own fault and you will be punished for it! Here is your  
/timetable!You will be staying with K-unit and your codename is... Cub. You only answer to your codename and call others by theirs. _Understood?"_ The Sergeant emphasized the last part.

"Understood, sir," Alex replied clearly and loudly.

The Sergeant seemed satisfied with his behavior and lowered his voice." Good! Dismissed!" Alex nodded respectfully and left. He had to admit, he was a bit nervous about seeing K-unit again. The Sergeant didn't seem to recognize him but that didn't mean  
/thatK-unit wouldn't.

Alex was about halfway away from K-unit's cabin when he noticed one of the units approaching him. He did his best to ignore them but when they blocked his path, he couldn't ignore them any longer.

"Can I help you?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

A man with brown hair and black eyes stepped forward. He was about 6 feet tall and had a scowl on his face. "Who the bloody hell do you think you are?!" He spat out. "You're too young to be here!You should go back to your parents! This is a place for  
/soldiers who serve their country, not for children."

Alex stood up straighter and gave him his best poker face, which made him look older than he really was. The man seemed surprised but only for a moment. Alex wanted to punch the man but remembering what the Sergeant said, he remained silent.

"What's wrong?" The soldier mocked. "Afraid to talk?" When Alex still wouldn't answer, the soldier shoved him. Alex was taken by surprise so he stumbled and fell backward into a mud. The soldiers laughed and left him on the ground. He got up andtried  
/to clean himself as best as he can. All traces of nervousness vanished and now he was just plain angry. And disgusted. How old were they, five?He reached the barracks and knocked. The door was opened by a brown haired, brown eyed

remembered him as Eagle. Eagle had a bright smile on his face and he extended his hand out to Alex.

"Hi. You must be the agent. I'm Eagle, the sharpshooter!"

Alex shook his hand,"Cub," he introduced himself. Eagle froze but then his face broke into a grin. "Are you the same Cub as last time?"

Alex didn't really want them to know and he was sure Eagle would ask him a whole bunch of questions if he did so he gave him a puzzled look and said slowly," No..."

Eagle's face visibly deflated. "Oh." But he grinned again and moved to the side to let Alex in. Wolf put down a gun he was cleaning and Snake and another soldier Alex didn't recognize put down their books. Alex quietly walked to the only empty bunk andput  
/his bag down on the ground.

The soldier Alex didn't recognize spoke up brightly. "Hi! I'm Coyote, the linguist. The fellow with the gun over there is our leader, Wolf,"he pointed at Wolf," and that's Snake, the medic."

Alex nodded at each of them,"I'm Cub."

Wolf and Snake looked thoughtful and Alex was sure they would recognize him but Eagle rescued him."No guys, he's not the same Cub as last time. I asked."

"Well, I'm gonna get some sleep. Goodnight!" Cub told them. This was getting awkward.

"What?" Eagle shouted, disbelief written all over his face. "It's too early to go to sleep. Can't you tell us about yourself or something?"

"I'm an agent," Alex said bluntly. Eagle rolled his eyes."We already know that."

Panther decided to join the conversation. "How old are you? You can't be a day older than twenty."

"I think he's 18 years old," Snake said.

"I say he's 19," Wolf spoke up for the first time.

"I say he's 16," Eagle cried out happily. The others rolled their eyes at him. "Sixteen's way too young, Eagle." Snake said. Alex snorted but nobody heard him.

"Well, I say he's sixteen." He turned to Alex. "So,Cub, how old are you?"

Alex layed down on the hard matress and said,"Classified." The soldiers gaped at him. Alex wanted to laugh at their expressions. "But you're all wrong anyway."

"Nooo!" Eagle yelled out dramatically."You can't do this to us." Eagle plopped down on his own bunk."Can you tell us how many missions you've been on?"

"That's classified," Alex replied.

"What's your real name?"

"Classified."

"Why are you here?"

"Classified."

"Why is everything classified?"

"Classified."

Eagle pouted. A soldier _pouted._ "Oh come on. You've got to tell us something." Eagle seemed to notice the mud on Alex for the first time. "How did you get so muddy?"he asked. "Did you fall into a mud puddle?"

He was grinning again and Alex wondered what happened to the serious soldier he had met the first time he came here.

"No," he replied. Seriously. He thought that Alex _fell_ into a mud puddle. "Some soldiers just don't like having an agent here."

"What do you mean?" Coyoteasked. "One of the soldiers pushed you?"

"Something like that," he replied.

The soldiers fell silent, even Eagle and Alex wondered why. But of course, Eagle broke the silence a minute later. "Hey Cub! Which one of us was closest to your real age?" Alex rolled his eyes. Eagle was insatiable. "You were," he said, turning over so  
/hecould see their expressions. Eagle had a smug look on his face and the others looked shocked.

Alex turned his back on them and smiled. "Goodnight, everyone," he called out. Only Eagle replied because the others were still in shock. "Goodnight,Cubby!"

Coyotesmirked, "Really Eagle. _Cubby."_ Alex didn't turn around. He simple raised his right hand and stuck his middle finger up. The soldiers burst into laughter. Eagle spluttered. _"What?_ My innocent little Cub."

By the time the soldiers quieted down and got out a deck of cards to play with, Alex was already sound asleep.

* * *

"He's quiet. And secretive," Wolf started up the conversation.

"I like him," Eagle said matter-of-factly.

"I don't think he likes you," Coyotesaid with a smirk. Eagle punched him playfully. "But I agree with Wolf. We don't know much about him. Every question is answered with a classified."

"So what do we know about him?" Snake asked.

"He works for MI6," Wolf said.

"And he's really young," Snake added.

"He has blonde hair, brown eyes, and is short. About 5'10," Coyotesaid.

"And he has nightmares," Eagle added. The others looked at him in confusion so he gestured towards the young agent.

Alex was tossing and turning and was in the middle of what clearly was a horrible nightmare.

* * *

 **Sooo, I'm finally done with the third chapter. I hope you all like it. And I know I've said this before, but I'll say it again.** _ **Please**_ **review. Reviews make every writer happy and always give the writer inspiration. So please review and if there's something that you guys would like to see happen in the story, then tell me and I'll see what I can do. I know I'm not the greatest writer ever. I'm not even close but please review. I want to know what you think of my story so far.**

 **Rider fan 4ever**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello everyoneee! I'm back! So, I hope you liked the third chapter. If not, then maybe this will be better. Anyway, school is going to start in... four days? Five? I don't remember. Point is, it might to take me a little longer than usual to post a chapter. So I am going to do my best in the last couple of days of summer. And I hope you like it.**  
/

 **Disclaimer: All characters belong to Anthony Howoritz...except for Panther. He's all mine!**

* * *

 _Alex was tossing and turning and was in the middle of what clearly was a horrible nightmare._

* * *

The soldiers sat and stared at Alex. Each was at a loss as to what they should do. Soon, Alex began whimpering in his sleep.

"Can you guys hear what he's saying?" Coyoteasked. He didn't know much about Alex but he cared about him. He felt like he had to protect him and help him. He once had a younger brother who was an agent and his brother had nightmares so hewas really  
/worried as to what could have happened to the agent that would cause him have nightmares.

The soldiers shook their heads. "Let's get closer," Snake whispered to the others. They quietly moved to the side of the bed and listened. Alex's quiet whimpers grew louder.

"Jack! Jack! No!I'm sorry. Don't leave me!" Alex was begging now, tears of pain streaming down his face.

Eagle bit his bottom lip. "I can't stand to see him like this. Can I wake him up?"

Wolf shook his head. "It's none of our business and I'm sure that he wouldn't want us to know about the nightmares. Let's just leave him and go to sleep."

The soldiers stood up but on an impulse, Coyotereached out and put his hand on Alex's forhead. Alex began to quiet down. Coyoteran his hand through Alex's hair and murmured soft reassurings to him. Soon, Alex was sleeping peacefully.

"How'd you know that that calms him down?" Wolf asked.

Coyoteshrugged,"My younger brother was an agent and he used to have nightmares. Whenever I ran my hand through his hair, he quieted down almost immediately. I thought the same thing might work for Cub."

"He looks so young and peaceful. I wonder how old he really is." Snake thought out loud.

"He said that Eagle was closest to his age, so he's probably 15 or 17." Coyotesaid. "But both are so young. Would the government recruit someone that young?"

The soldiers stared at the agent, all deep in thought. Eagle broke the silence and said something unexpected. "He's so cute when he's asleep." He whispered.

The others looked at him like he was crazy. He pointed to Alex. "Just look at him. He looks so young and innocent in his sleep. Just like a child."

"I agree with Eagle," Coyotesaid."So do I," Snake agreed.

The soldiers looked at their leader expectantly. Wolf just shrugged, layed down on his bed, and closed the soldiers sighed and followed suit. They had a long day tomorrow and would need some rest.

* * *

Alex woke up early the next day and checked the time. The soldiers were supposed to wake up for breakfast in 15 minutes. Alex stood up and stretched. He had slept very well. He didn't wake up from any nightmares which was unusual seeing as he had nightmares  
/almost every day. However, he did recall having some dream about Jack or something. He couldn't remember all the details.

He silently made his way out of the room and went to take a shower. Ten minutes later, he was clean and dressed, but he didn't remember what class he was supposed to take after breakfast so he went back to the barracks to fetch his timetable. But whenhe  
/got there, the soldiers were already up and dressed.

"Good morning, Cub! Had a good night's sleep?" Eagle called out.

Alex looked at him weirdly and nodded. He took out his timetable and skimmed through it. After breakfast, he had to go to the assaultcourse. Alex shuddered. He remembered the assaultcourse really well. 

Snake looked over his shoulder and said, "Looks like you've got the same schedule as us."

Alex put away his timetable as Wolf called out,"Come on! Let's go or we'll miss breakfast."

The soldiers walked out of the cabin and headed to the mess hall. Alex walked slowly behind them so he wouldn't participate in their conversation. Eagle and Coyotetried to talk to him but Alex simply ignored them and walked on.

When they arrived at the mess hall, it was already full. The soldiers got their mush, _err,_ food and sat down at a table. There were two empty tables and Alex didn't know whether to sit with his unit or at an empty table. He looked at his unit  
/and saw Eagle wave him over. He blanked out his face and walked over to an empty table. He put his tray down and was about to sit when one on the soldiers stopped him. Honestly, he just wanted them to leave him alone. Was that too much to ask for?

"Hey! What the hell are you doing here?!" The soldier demanded and gave him a hate-filled glare. The hall quieted down and all the soldiers turned their attention on the two. Alexmay have looked older from the last time he was here but he

still looked pretty young.

Alex just remained silent. "What's wrong? Are you afraid to answer the big bad soldier?" He scoffed. Alex blanked out his face and gave him a piercing glare that was filled with ice. The soldier looked taken aback at the look but kept on going. "Onlysoldiers  
/who work hard and serve their country can eat here. You should go back home to your mummy."

Alex narrowed his eyes and kept quiet. He wondered when the guy would shut up and leave him alone. He was getting hungry. "Still not gonna answer? Maybe I should beat some respect into you."

He reached down to grab Alex but Alex saw the move coming and in a flurry of movements, the soldier was on the ground and had his arms pinned behind his back. Alex leaned down until his mouth was next to the soldier's ear. Even though he was whispering,the  
/hall was so quiet that his voice traveled across the room and was heard by every soldier.

"You do not know me or anything about me. Do not judge me by my looks and I advise you to stay away from me. Understood?" The soldier struggled but Alex's grip was too strong.

 _"Understood?"_ Alex repeated. The soldier mumbled a feeble response and was suddenly released. Alex's bullet wound gave a slight throb and Alex rubbed it before turning around and eating as if nothing happened. The soldier turned red inthe

face and marched out of the mess hall, his unit close on his heels. Alex could feel everyone's gaze on him but didn't turn around. The chatter slowly started up again, and the topic of all conversations were about a certain blonde boy.

"Did you guys see that? That was amazing!" Eagle chattered happily.

Coyotesmirked, "I, for one, am glad that Cub beat Lion'sass. Serves him right. He should know better."

Wolf joined the conversation, "Looks like Cub's got a few tricks up his sleeve."

"Did you guys see what he did after he let go of Lion?" Snake asked, concern etched into his other shook their heads. "He rubbed his chest. He must have an injury there. It could be dangerous. I'm going to talk to him later."

Wolfsnorted, "Good luck with that."

Eagle frowned, "What happened from yesterday to today. He talked to us yesterday and was nice enough. Now, he's mean and unfriendly."

Snake put down his spoon and said, "I think a little bit of k-unit bonding time is necessary."

The others agreed and watched as their new member left the mess hall with no other interruptions. They dumped their trays in the bin and caught up with him.

* * *

 _ **Sooo,**_ **that's the end of the fourth chapter. Hope you all enjoyed it! I'm going to try to squeeze in another chapter before school starts. And please, please, please, please, please, please,** _ **please**_ **review. Maybe I should make a rule about this. I don't write another chapter until I get at least 20 reviews. Is that what you all want me to do? No? I thought so. I need inspiration. If you guys have any idea as to what should happen next, then please tell me.**  
/

 **Rider fan 4ever**


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm sorry, everyone! I couldn't squeeze in another chapter before school. And speaking of school, today was my first day as a 10th grader and it was great. I mean apart from the sweltering classrooms, broken fans, and homework, the day was great. The teachers are really nice and fun. A lot better than last year'steachers, "shudders." Anyway, I found out something new in technology class today. For those who read this story on a computer, the mistakes might not be too annoying, but if you read it on an ipod, like me, then they are frustrating and make it hard to read. In one of my reviews, someone told me to edit the stories on Docmanager. There isn't a Docmanager on the app, but there was on a computer so I edited them but I'm not sure if theg stayed fixed. So I would appreciate it one of you could tell me. And thanks to all those people who took the time to review. I really appreciate it. And here is the fifth chapter that you've all been waiting for.**

 **Disclaimer: I totally own Alex Rider "rolls eyes" that's why I'm typing it on fanfiction**

* * *

 _Snake put down his spoon and said, "I think a little bit of k-unit bonding time is necessary."_

 _The others agreed and watched as their new member left the mess hall with no other interruptions. They dumped their trays in the bin and caught up with him_.

* * *

Once Cub realized that the rest of his unit were following him, he walked faster. But Coyotereached out and grabbed his arm. Cub visibly flinched and pulled his arm out of his grip. The rest of k-unit wondered what that was all about.

"Slow down, Cub. It's just us." Coyote frowned. Alex sighed and reluctantly slowed down so they were all walking at he same pace.

"Sooo, that was quite a show, wasn't it, Cubby?" Eagle exclaimed throwing an arm around his shoulders. Cub flinched again but when Eagle didn't let go, hegave him a death glare and Eagle let go of him immediately.

Cub punched Eagle on the arm. Hard. "Oww! What was that for?" Eagle cried out, rubbing the spot where Alex punched him.

"For calling me Cubby!" He said innocently. "And I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh come on Cub. You seemed nice yesterday. Whydid you change?" He asked. The others face palmed. Very subtle, Eagle. Very subtle.

"Well, I'm sorry if I changed. I won't do it again." Cub gave Eagle an apologetic look. Everyone gaped at him. This guy was crazy.

Eagle, however, smiled. "Really? So you're going to be nice now!"

"No, I'm going to stay mean." He replied emotionlessly. And with that, Alex sprinted towards the assault course, leaving behind four disappointed soldiers.

 _"I've been talking to them too much. I need to push them away. Stop talking to them. I need to do a better job,"_ Alex thought to himself sternly _._

Before he knew it, he was at the assault course. Alex looked up at the course and his thoughts unconsciously drifted back to the last time he went on it. He had hated every moment of it. _An adventure playground from hell,_ he thought.

A couple of seconds later, his unit arrived. They didn't comment on their earlier conversation and instead went straight to their assignment.

"We've got an odd number of people. So three of us will go first while the other two stay behind. Then we'll switch. Cub can stay behind since he's never been on the assault course before. Who's going to stay behind with him?" Wolf asked.

Coyote immediatly raised his hand. "I'll stay behind."

"All right then. You've got the stopwatch? Good. Let's go." Wolf, Eagle, and Snake went to the starting line. They waited until Coyote gave the signal before sprinting through the course. Alex walked away from Coyote and looked for a clean place tosat  
down a couple of feet away from him and leaned against a boulder. A couple of minutes later, Coyote sat down next to Alex. Neither spoke for a while and that was just the way Alex liked it. But of course, Coyote spoke to him. He did stay

behind for a reason after all.

He put an arm around Alex and ignored the way he tensed up. "Cub, how old are you?" He asked gently. Alex didn't answer so Coyote kept going. "Your age can't be classified. Maybe your missions or your real name but not your age."

Alex remained silent and Coyote sighed. "Do you trust me?" Alex shook his head. It was a quick, sharp,movement. Coyote furrowed his brow in confusion. "Why? What have I done for you to distrust me?" Alex refused to answer and stared straight ahead.

"Do you trust anyone in our unit?" He asked only to get another jerk of the head. Coyote removed his arm from around Alex and took his hand instead. "But why?" He was almost begging now. Alex stood up and replied with a blank face,"I don't trust anyone."He  
cut off Coyote's next comment by saying, "Wolf's almost done." And sure enough, when Coyote turned his head, Wolf was almost done.

Wolf finished the course first, then Snake, then Eagle. Coyote recorded their time and him and Cub got ready to run the course. Almost 30 minutes later, everyone was done and Snake was telling everyone how long they took to complete the course.

"Wolf, 14minutes, 32 seconds; Coyote,15 minutes, 21 seconds; Eagle, 16minutes, 15 seconds; and Cub, 14 minutes, 55 seconds."

Eagle clapped Alex on the back. "That's really good for a first timer! You beat almost everyone!"

If Alex was honest, he was proud of himself as well. The last time he went on the course, which was over a year ago, his time had been 17 minutes. He cut that time by two minutes and that was pretty impressive.

Alex remembered that they were supposed to take a shower next so while the soldiers fell into an easy chatter, he quietly left the group and once he was out of their sights, he broke into a jog. He took a very fast shower and was done by the time theyarrived.  
They gave him suspicious looks but didn't didn't want to take a shower in front of them. He didn't want them to see the scars that littered his body. He wouldn't mind it so much if they weren't so curious and had to find

out the answers to everything. But unfortunately, they were, so everything about him has to be kept a secret.

Fifteen minutes later, everyone was clean and was ready to go to the next class, which was languages. Snake was studying German, Wolf was studying Spanish, Eagle was studying French, and Coyote knew all three incluing Japanese, seeing as he is the linguist,and  
was studying Russian. Alex was fluent in French, Spanish, German, Japanese, Russian, and he was now studying Arabic, which he was about 90% fluent in.

The class went by quickly and because he was the only person in the unit, he wasn't bothered by anyone although some soldiers in his class gave him strange looks. The next class, lectures, went by with no interruptions and the his unit didn't try talkingto  
him again. Alex began to think that things might turn out okay but like always, things never turn out okay for Alex. And he found that out in his next class, hand-to-hand combat.

They had just walked out of the lectures class and were stretching and rolling their stiff shoulders.

"We've got hand-to-hand combat next," Wolf announced for the benefit of Alex.

They began walking in that direction and soon entered the large room. Mats were on the floor but no soldiers were inside. It was just k-unit.

"Right! We have 5 people here so Coyote and I will fight first, Eagle and Snake next, then Cub can fight one of us. Are we good?" Wolf asked. He got a couple of nodd and him and Coyote went out on the mat. The fight was long and hard, but Wolf was strong  
andhe beat Coyote. Next, Eagle and Snake went out on the mat and took the correct fighting stance.

"Get ready to be beaten!" Eagle said with a wide smile.

Snake rolled his eyes and copied Eagle's stance. The fight began and Alex watched the fight closely. It was very easy to tell that fighting wasn't Snake's specialty. He wasn't a powerhouse like Wolf but he was lithe and relied on agility instead of  
/brute force. Next, Cub and Eagle went onto the mat. Alex had never really fought with someone on the same side as him. It had always been an enemy. But that didn't mean that he was going to go easy on him and let him win.

Eagle threw the first punch and the fight began. Eagle was a good fighter but so was Alex. But after fighting for a bit longer, something strange happened. Alex began to get flashbacks of when he was fighting on a mission. Swimming from the Portuguese  
Manof War. Skiing down a mountain. Swimming away from the shark. Yassen dying. Being shot. Images of those who were hurt or died because of him flashed in front of him. The images fueled him. Helost control and beganfighting with everything  
he had. He held nothing back.

Eagle tried surrendering but Alex wouldn't stop. Eagle fought harder but he was no match for the agent. Alex heard shouting but it sounded very distant and he couldn't focus. The only thing he could think about was his opponent. He was a threat and  
/Alex had to get rid of him. In the corner of his eye, he saw someone approaching and abruptly turned around and threw a punch which was neatly dodged. More people joined the fight, but try as he might, he couldn't defeat all of them and one of thempinned  
his arms behind his back and put a knee on him, keeping him on the ground.

He struggled and tried to get away but the person had an iron grip on him. He heard shouting, but the words didn't reach his ears. Suddenly, he heard one word and it was very clear what the man had said. _Cub._ Alex was confused. Why would thesepeople  
call him Cub. He stopped struggling and focused more. Then, he remembered everything. Getting on the mat. Fighting Eagle and losing control. Alex was terrified and his body went limp.

* * *

 _Minutes before Alex lost control_

"Wow! He's really good." Coyote whispered to Wolf and Snake, who nodded their head in agreement.

Wolf whispered back, "He's MI6. He's got to be good."

They all watched the fight a little longer and noticed something changing.

"Guys! Something wrong is happening here. Look at Cub."

Alex was fighting more intensely. Eagle's face showed a mixture of pain and fear.

"Oh my God! He's losing control," Snake shouted.

Eagle stopped going for the offensive and just did his best to protect himself.

"Guys, help!" Eagle begged. _What was going on?_

 _"Cub!_ Cub! Calm down! It's us. It's k-unit," Coyote tried to sound reasuuring.

The others joined him but nothing they said would calm the agent down. Then they realized something else. Alex's intent was clearly expressed in his body language. He hadn't just lost control. He was aiming to kill Eagle.

Their eyes widened with realization and Wolf ran forward. He dodged the punch Alex threw at him. Snake and Coyote joined in. They threw punch after punch. But there were more of them than there were of Alex and Wolf was able to swipe his legs out fromunderneath  
him. He pinned Alex's arm behind him and put a knee on his back to stop him from getting up again.

Wolf wouldn't let go of him and the others shouted for him to calm down and that he was safe.

* * *

Alex let his body go limp and after about 30 seconds of the hand still not being removed, he whispered feebly, "I'm okay now."

Wolf slowly let go of him and Alex sat up and rubbed his sore arms. He risked a look up and immediately looked down again. Snake and Coyote were looking at him with shock, Wolf looked angry and confused, but the worst of all was Eagle. He had bruisesall  
over him, a black eye, and he looked almost ready to pass out.

Alex was terrified. He had never, _ever_ , lost control like that. He had always prided himself in his ability to stay in control no matter what situation he was in and the fact that he had lost control was horrifying. He hadn't just lost  
wanted to kill Eagle. Scorpia turned him into a killing machine. The assassinin inhim rose up and it frightened him. What if he had done that to a friend? Or someone else? Alex was ashamed of himself. He refused to meet anyone's eyesand  
wouldn't talk or explain himself.

"I'm going to take Eagle to the infirmary," Snake said quietly. Alex looked up and realized that Snake had been cleaningEagle's wounds.

With the help of Snake, Eagle slowly stood up and met Alex's eyes. He stopped and waited, hoping that Alex hadn't meantit. Hoping that Alex would say sorry and explain himself. AndAlex wanted to. He wanted to reach out and hug Eagle and cry  
and tell himthat he was _sorry_ and that he didn't mean it. But he couldn't move. And the look Eagle gave him was one of fear and pain and betrayal and every horrible thing Alex could think of. Finally, Eagle turned away and left,  
leaning heavily againstSnake.

Him, Wolf, and Coyote stayed in silence. Finally Alex whispered, "I'm sorry."

And that was when Wolf exploded. "YOU'RE _SORRY!_ IS THAT ALL YOU CAN SAY?! YOU ALMOST KILLED EAGLE, YOU DIRTY, ROTTEN, BASTARD! DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH ANY ONE US AGAIN, YOU SICK MORON!"

He turned around and marched out. Coyote put a hand on Alex's shoulder but removed it when Alex flinched. He gave Alex a look of sadnessand followed Wolf out.

Alex took one last look at their retreating backs. _"Nobody wants to stay with me."_ He thought. He closed his eyes briefly and walked away.

* * *

 **I cannot believe it took me this long to finish the chapter. That's insane. Anyway, I'm going to get started on the next chapter. But remember, more reviews equals faster updates. And thank you _sooo_ much to those who reviewed for the last chapter especially to you DoctorMerlinReid. Your review was amazing and inspirational and I read it at least 10 times while grinning crazily at the ipod. Thank you all so much. I really appreciate it.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Here's the sixth chapter every one! I hope you all like it. And just wanted to let you know, I have no idea where I'm taking this story. I** _ **need**_ **ideas, so** _ **please**_ **review. Tell me what youwant to see in this story. Would you like to see Yassen appear, add a torture scene, haveAlex kill himself? Tell me what you want, or I'll make the ending horrible.**

* * *

The Sergeant took a look around the room. Wolf looked pissed off, Snake looked sad, Coyote had on a look of understanding, and Cub's face was devoid of all emotion. Eagle wasn't there so he guessed that he was the reason his unit was here.

The Sergeant clasped his hands together. "All right. Wolf, what's wrong?" he ordered calmly.

Wolf took a deep, calming breath and retold the events of the day. When he finished, the Sergeant's expression had changed. His face showed nothing but there was a hint of anger in his eyes.

And who could blame him? As a Sergeant, he had come to think of all the soldiers as his kids and the fact that one of them had been nearly killed angered him.

He turned to Cub, whose face was _still_ blank and asked, voice still calm, "What happened, Cub? I don't think you meant to hurt him so what happened?"

Alex shrugged,"I lost control." He stated which only served to anger Wolf more. The man wanted to strangle him.

The Sarge raised an eyebrow,"And _why_ did you lose control?"

Alex shrugged again. "I don't know what happened to me?" He said. And it was true. He didn't know why he lost control.

Sergeant Wilson realized that he wouldn't be getting anything out of Cub, so he instead went to the punishments.

"One week kitchen duty, Cub. Starting tomorrow."

Alex was surprised and maybe it was the teenage part of him that made him say, "That's it?" The Sergeant raised his eyebrow again. "Do you want to work more?" Alex shrugged. He really needed to stop shrugging so much.

"Well, do you?" The Sarge prompted. Alex sighed, "Considering I had lost control and nearly killed someone, then yes, I do think that I deserve more."

"Three weeks kitchen duty. " Alex nodded. It still wasn't bad, but it was better. Alex had better punishments in mind, but he didn't say them. "Dismissed. K-unit, stay behind." Alex was about to leave when a question popped into his mind.

He turned around again. "Sir?" "Yes," the Sergeant replied. "Can I go see Eagle?" The Sergeant was surprised. It seemed like this agent really cared about Eagle, even though he didn't show it.

"Of course you can," he told Alex, who nodded his thanks and left. He didn't really want to because it would mess up his whole avoiding the soldiers plan but he thought that Eagle deserved an explanation.

* * *

The Sergeant stood in front of his desk and faced his soldiers.

"I don't have any information on Cub. Everything about him is classified." He paused for a moment to let the soldier sink in. "I want youto try and find out more about him. This is my own idea and if you tell MI6, I'm going to deny it. Can you do

that for me?"

The soldiers smiled and nodded, "We could try but he's very secretive." Coyote said.

"I know, but trying is better than nothing. I think he might need help and I know you could help him. Dismissed."

The soldiers filed out and went to their cabin, each thinking of a way to get Alex to tell them about himself.

* * *

Alex took a deep breath and stepped in the infirmary. As soon as he got in, he saw Eagle. He was in the room right in front of the door. Alex straightened up and walked gracefully to the door. It was now or never. No one stopped him or questioned himand  
he was glad for it. Eagle didn't seem to notice him so he knocked twice lightly on the door even though it was open.

Eagle turned his head and he smiled slightly when he saw who his visitor was. "Hi Cub! Come in. I'm bored out of my mind." He spoke quickly and in a false cheery tone.

Alex smiled back and sat down on the chair near his bed. They sat in silence for a while but Alex finally mustered up the courage to speak.

"Did I injure you too bad?" He asked quietly, looking down.

"No, I'll be fine.I can leave in a couple of hours." He replied.

Alex leaned closer and hugged him. "I'm really sorry, Eagle. I never meant to hurt you. I don't know what happened to me. I've never lost control before. But I swear, I never meant to and I'm really, really s..."

Alex was speaking very fast so Eagle interrupted him. "Whoah there, Cub. Not so fast. It's all right. I know you didn't mean it."

Alex tightened his grip and Eagle hugged him back. "Forgive me," he begged quietly.

"I forgive you, Cub. I forgive you." Eagle replied, pressing his lips to Alex's hair. This was the first time Eagle had seen Alex like this. He looked so _young_ and vulnerable. Like a child. He wondered how old Alex really was.

A few moments later, Alex untangled himself and stood up. He looked Eagle in the eye. "Thank you," Eagle was surprised at the depth of gratitude but didn't comment on it. "I've got to go. But I'll see you soon, okay?"

"All right. Bye, Cub." He ruffled his hair and Alex left the room, feeling considerably lighter than how he felt when he came in.

* * *

Coyote and Snake sat down on the ground in their cabin while Wolf paced back and forth.

"That idiot!" Wolf snarled. "He almost _killed_ Eagle but it's like he doesn't care."

"I'm sure he does care, Wolf." Coyote said quietly.

"Yeah," Snake agreed. "I mean, if he didn't then why would he ask for more punishments and _why_ would he ask to see Eagle? He looked terrified after the fight. He din't mean it. He lost control."

Wolf sighed and say down on his bunk, all traces of anger gone. "But _why?_ Why did he lose control?"

"I don't know," Snake admitted. He turned to Coyote. "You said before that your brother was an agent? Was he like Cub?"

Coyote scratched the back of his head. "Sort of. He used to have nightmares but after seeing a therapist, they stopped. He never lost control and not everything was classified. But like Cub, he used to flinch whenever someone touched him and distancedhimself  
from everyone. He never told me anything about his missions and to be honest, I never asked. I wasn't too close with the guy." He finished.

"So we all agree that this new Cub is a mystery. No one knows anything about him, not even the sergeant."

"We should try talking to him! Get him to trust us and be our friend." Coyote said.

Wolf snorted,"You really think that's going to work. The guy is about as friendly as a rock. Snake, you said you saw him rubbing his chest?" Snake nodded. "Well, try asking him about it?"

Coyote stood up. "Fine, Snake can test out that idea, and I'll try to talk to him. We can tell Eagle our idea later."

Wolf stood up as well. "I still don't think that's going to work, but good luck. You'll need it. And speaking of Eagle, we should go see how he is. Come on, guys."

Snake got up and the three left to check on their fourth member.

* * *

 **Sooo, not much action, I know. I'll try to do better next time. Anyway, I had this dream yesterday that I said that I wouldn't update the next chapter unless I got 10 reviews. But then, the number of reviews went up and up and they reached over 400. I know that's not gonna happen, but still, a couple of reviews would be nice. And by the way, I'm not lying. I really did have a dream like that. Also, I changed my name from Rider fan 4ever to Night Riders, so don't get confused. I'll update the next chapter quickly but I need to get at least 5 reviews.**  
/

 **Night Riders**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi guysss! Thanks to those who reviewed, especially DoctorMerlinReid and Torchwood Cardiff. You guys are AWESOME! I don't know what I would do without you. So, here's the seventh chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.**

 _Water. Water everywhere. Water in his eyes and mouth. His lungs were about to explode. He was drowning. The jellyfish was approaching. Then the scene changed. Alexei Sarov shooting himself. Because of Alex. Nadia Vole getting killed. Because of Alex. Damian Cray shooting Yassen. Dead. Because of Alex. Jack being blown up. Because of Alex. The guilt and grief was overwhelming. It was taking over him and haunting his mind. He was a killer. An assas..._

Alex awoke with a gasp. For a moment, he forgot where he was and panicked. But then his mind cleared and his vision sharpened. He took a deep calming breath and leaned against the wall. He close his eyes briefly as he thought back to his nightmare. He hadn't had one like that in a long time.

But now, the memories of all the horrible things he's done were still fresh on his mind. And the guilt of killing all those people, directly and indirectly, were haunting him. Who was he? A killer. A spy. He didn't even know anymore. And it scared him.

He took a look at the time. It was 0515. Thankfully, no one was awake yet. He took a step outside. A cool breeze blew over him. He took a quick shower. After getting dressed, he remembered that he had kitchen duty and swore. But then he remembered that he had asked for more punishment and with a regretful sigh, headed off to the mess hall.

Coyote drowsily opened his eyes. Something had woken him up. He turned over and realized that it must have been Eagle's loud snoring. Coyote groaned and covered his face with his pillow. But he couldn't fall back asleep. Reluctantly, he got out of bed. They had 15 minutes before breakfast started. He looked over to Cub's bed only to find it empty.

 _"He's one mysterious guy,"_ he mused.

He shook himself out of his stupor and went to wake up Snake. The man opened his eyes slowly but upon discovering what time it was, he shot out of bed. Snake went to wake up Wolf while Coyote woke up Eagle.

Coyote stood in front of Eagle's bed and with a sigh, put his hand on his hips. How should he wake him up this time? A grin slowly spread on Coyote's face and with a cheery shout of "EAGLEEE!," he jumped on the sleeping soldier. Eagle yelled out in surprise and rolled off the bed, hitting his head on the little cabinet beside it.

Coyote burst into laughter as Eagle rubbed the back of his head and glared at him, fully awake now.

The four soldiers got dressed and it was Eagle who started the conversation about Cub.

"Hey guys," he said, pointing to Cub's bed. "Cub's gone."

Wolf raised his eyebrow and said rudely. "So. He probably woke up early and went to the mess hall."

"Remember guys. He's got kitchen duty." Snake said.

Coyote nodded but Eagle wasn't done yet. He turned to Wolf and said, "Come on, Wolf. Don't act like you don't care about him."

"I don't care." He replied flatly.

"Aren't you even a _little_ curious? He just turns up at an army camp and no one knows a thing about him. Sure, he works for MI6, but still, they've always told us something about the agents that come here. We had a bit of information about them."

Snake looked at Eagle. "You make him sound like the first Cub who came here over a year ago."

Coyote's eyes widened and he perked up. "Hey guys! What if this Cub and the Cub from a year ago are the same person? No one knows anything about them and they're both young."

Wolf joined the conversation. "But that's as far as you can go when it comes down to similarities. The first Cub was young, inexperienced, and couldn't have possibly worked for MI6. This Cub is experienced, emotionless, and he _does_ work for MI6."

Snake nodded in agreement. "That's true. They might both be young but there's too many differences for them to be the same person."

Eagle shook his head and argued. "Yeah, but didn't Wolf tell us that he saw Cub in Point Blanc. Skiing down a mountain on an _ironing board_ has to count for something."

Wolf looked uncertain. "Yeah, but that was just one time right? He couldn't be working for SO. He's too young."

"And he said that he wasn't the same Cub the first day he got here. But with everything that we know about him, he could've been lying." Snake thought out loud.

Wolf raised his voice a notch. "You guys! Think about what you're saying! They have way more differences than similarities. And wouldn't a spy have been skilled and experienced. The first Cub could barely keep up with us."

Disappointed, Eagle nodded his head in agreement at the same time Snake said, "You're right."

Coyote shrugged and turned towards to leave. "Well, I never met the first Cub so I'm sticking with my idea. I'll prove it."

Wolf raised his eyebrow. "How? Are you gonna walk up to Cub and demand an answer from him?"

"No. I'm going to try to befriend him." He replied.

Eagle grinned. "Me too. We can make him our buddy."

"I'm gonna ask him about his chest injury. I'm the medic. I've got to know if he's got injuries."

Wolf shrugged. "Have it your way guys. I don't think you're gonna get anywhere with him but good luck."

Coyote glared at the unit leader for his lack of support. "Wolf! How can you be so heartless and uncaring? Come on! You've got to be a little curious."

Wolf sighed. "Okay, I admit it. I am curious. I would like to know who the guy is and why he's here. But like I said before, the guy is about as friendly as a rock and he obviously doesn't want us to know anything. And it's none of our business."

"Well, then, we'll have to make it our business." Coyote responded matter of factly. "The Sergeant said that he might need help so the least we can do is try and help him. He's a bit mysterious but I care about him."

"Aww," Eagle smiled. "Is our little Coyote going soft?"

Coyote punched him playfully, but said honestly. "Maybe. Something about him evokes the older brother in me. I feel like it's my responsibility to break through his shell and help him."

"I care about him too. I want to get to know him and help him." Eagle admitted quietly.

Snake matched Eagle's tone. "So do I."

Everyone turned to Wolf. "I care about him too. And I do think that he needs help and we can help him. He _is_ part of our unit after all."

Everyone grinned. They hadn't been expecting _that_ response but in that moment, nobody made fun of him. It must have taken Wolf some guts to admit something like that. And the fact that he said that Alex was a part of their unit was big.

Everyone's thoughts were on Cub until Snake broke the silence and said, "Uh... guys? We're late."

Wolf opened the door to the mess hall and it k-unit immediately noticed that something was different. The soldiers seemed to buzzing with happiness. There was so much chatter and laughter. Eel from L-unit smiled widely as he passed k-unit and shouted, "Hey guys!"

K-unit looked at each other, perplexed. Finally, Wolf shrugged and went to get his breakfast. The rest did the same and went to sit down at their table. Unconsciously, their eyes moved to where Cub usually sat but the table was deserted. Wolf, Snake, and Coyote noticed Eagle looking down at his tray with his mouth open and shock written all over his face.

"You okay, Eagle?" Snake asked.

The man looked up and said, sounding shocked. "We. We have food. Real _food_."

The others looked down at their breakfast for the first time, realizing why everyone was happy. The normal mush that they usually got wasn't there. Instead they had a delicious looking tray of _scrambled eggs._

Once the others collected their jaw off the ground, Eagle continued. "This must be Cub's doing. He had kitchen duty."

Coyote smirked suddenly and said. "Or this is just a trick from the cooks and there's poison in here." He poked his scrambled eggs.

"How reassuring." Wolf told him.

Coyote grinned at the looks of uncertainty he got from his teammates. Eagle put some in his mouth and his eyes lit up.

"Oh my God! This is delicious. I love Cub so much." He said after swallowing the first bite.

After 10 seconds with Eagle still breathing, the others began eating. The food was so good and all thoughts of manners vanished. They devoured their food with so must gusto that spit started flying out of Coyote and Eagle's mouths. Wolf and Snake gave them looks of pure disgust but didn't comment. They couldn't blame them anyway. The food was so _good._

When the soldiers were about half way done with their food, Alex came out of the kitchen holding his own tray.

Alex was in their view for a second, and then the soldiers practically _attacked_ him. But not because he was a stranger. But because he made them the best food they've ever tasted.

"I love you Cub!"

"You're the best!"

"Cook for us again!"

The happy shouts kept on going but Alex was getting angrier and more annoyed. He didn't want attention.

"Think we should help him?" Snake asked, amused.

Wolf shrugged. "They're hugging him, not killing him."

Eagle suddenly grinned cheekily at Wolf. "But if they _were_ hurting him, you'd go save him, right daddy Wolf?!"

Wolf gave Eagle a death glare and replied. _"No!_ He's a _spy._ He can take care of himself."

Eagle rolled his eyes at the same time Coyote stood up. "I'm gonna go help him. This could be our first step to becoming friends with him."

Snake smiled in encouragement and Eagle cheered. Wolf, of course, rolled his eyes and shrugged.

Alex was angry enough to kill someone. Okay, not kill someone. But hurt them a lot. The soldiers acted as if they've never seen food before and a simple 'Thanks!' would've done just fine, but _nooo,_ they had to attack him. It was a surprise his food wasn't splattered everywhere.

A soldier accidentally hit him in the face and Alex swore, no one hearing him. Then something strange happened. Some of the soldiers were parting. The crowd was thinning and then Alex saw why. Well, he heard it actually.

"Move! Out of the way! Excuse me! Sorry!" It was Coyote shouting. Alex never thought he's be so glad to see Coyote. Soon, the soldier was in front of Alex.

"Hey Cub!" He said. "Need a little help?"

"Some help would be nice, yes," he replied weakly.

Coyote flashed him a bright smile before taking him by the arm (Alex flinched at this) and leading him back to the unit. Once there, Alex put down his tray of food, or what was left of it, and sat down beside Coyote.

"Thanks," he whispered softly to Coyote. Coyote squeezed his shoulder and smiled.

Eagle began talking immediately. "So Cub! Did you have fun? You must have had fun with all those soldiers hugging you."

Alex raised an eyebrow and replied sarcastically. "Had the time of my life."

Snake and Coyote chuckled and Eagle laughed. Even Wolf cracked a smile. They hadn't seen the sarcastic side of Alex before.

Alex ate his food and didn't talk anymore, only nodding and shaking his head to some questions while the others talked. Then, Coyote broached the topic of Alex's mysterious chest injury.

"Sooo, Cub? Snake saw you yesterday rubbing your chest and we were wondering if everything's okay."

Alex tensed up. So this was the reason why they were being nice to him. They didn't care about him. They just wanted to find information about him to satisfy their own curiosity. Alex's face closed off and he blatantly ignored the question, pretending he didn't hear. But the soldiers were observant, and they all caught the way Alex tensed up and knew he was just ignoring them. 

Snake sighed and put his hand on Alex's shoulder, refusing to move it when Alex flinched.

"Cub, you're part of our unit and we need to know if you have an injury. Especially if there's one on your chest." Alex still wouldn't answer and Snake squeezed his shoulder. "I'm the medic. I need to know. If you don't want to tell the others, then you don't have to, but at least tell me so I can help you, okay? We care about you Cub. _I_ care about you."

 _Care._ There it was again. That word. A word people say to Alex but never really mean it. Teachers who call him a thief and criminal behind his back. Friends who leave him when he clearly needs help. Ash.

Oh no! Alex wasn't going to be fooled again! He has been in enough pain to last him a life time. Physical _and_ emotional pain. Alex remembered every time he'd been hurt.

"Cub? _Cub?_ " Snake asked.

"You still there, buddy?" Eagle waved his hand in front of Alex's face.

"What happened to him?" Wolf asked. The other shrugged, just as confused as he was.

Coyote reached out and gently put his hand in Alex's arm. Alex broke out of his stupor immediately and pulled his hand away.

Coyote put his hands up and said, "Hey, calm down." Alex sent Coyote a stony stare. But Coyote wasn't giving up that easily!

He reached out slowly and took hold of the agent's arm again, noticing how Alex's eyes followed his every movement.

"Cub," he probed gently. "Tell me what's wrong."

Alex pulled his hand out of Coyote's grip violently and replied emotionlessly. "There's nothing wrong." He stood up and turned around, feeling everyone's gaze on him. He looked over this shoulder and continued. "We've got to get to the assault course." And with that, Alex quickly left the mess hall.

Wolf's eyes widened when he checked the time and him and the rest of the unit hastily cleaned up and ran out.

By the time they got there, the instructor was tapping his foot impatiently. Alex was already there.

"Almost late guys," the instructor told them once they came to a stop.

"Which means that we aren't late," Coyote pointed out smugly. The instructor rolled his eyes.

"Looks like it's going to rain soon," Eagle thought out loud.

Coyote looked up at the dark clouds that were covering the sky and groaned. "Which means that we have to go swimming in the rain. What fun!" He muttered sarcastically.

"Come on guys! Hurry up!" Wolf called out. Him, Snake, and Cub were already at the starting line.

Coyote and Eagle went over to them and when the signal was given, they sped through the course.

Thirty long minutes later, they finished the course and Alex, as usual, went to take a shower before they got there. Soon after everyone had showered, they went to the lake. But half way there, it began raining. The rain didn't come down as a light drizzled. It was pouring and it took only 10 second before everyone was soaking wet.

"Shit!" Wolf swore. Him and the others ran towards the lake. Swimming when it was raining was absolutely horrible.

The instructor was there and was smiling in the rain.

"Twenty laps guys! Hurry up!" The instructor told them cheerily. He knew how much the soldiers hated swimming in the rain.

The soldiers all stripped down except for Alex. Coyote noticed this and walked over to him.

"Cub, why aren't you taking off yo..."

"Hurry up!" Wolf yelled through the pounding of the rain.

Coyote gave Alex was one last look before he jumped into the lake like the others. Alex sighed and began swimming in the cold lake.

Ten minutes later, Alex was on his fifteenth lap. Wolf on his seventeenth, Coyote on his sixteenth, and Eagle and Snake were both on their fifteenth lap.

Alex was determined to not be the last but even now, he could feel himself slowing down. The rain was making it harder and the clothes were dragging him down. His injuries and bullet wound felt like they were on fire. He hadn't exercised like this in a long time and he put all his effort and concentration into just swimming.

"Stroke, stroke, stroke," were the only thoughts running through his head.

He saw Snake passing him and swam harder, doing his best to finish.

Ten painfully long minutes later, everyone was done. Wolf finished first, then Coyote, Snake, Cub, and finally, Eagle.

Alex pulled out of the water 15 seconds before Eagle. While the others put on their clothes, Alex turned the other direction and rubbed his chest. The pain reduced to a light stinging sensation.

The rain was thinning but Alex's shirt still felt heavy. Alex looked over his shoulder to make sure no one was watching him. He quickly took off his shirt and squeezed the water out of it.

He was just about to put it on again when a hand closed tightly on his arm. It was Snake.

"Cub," his voice was low and dangerous. "Where did you get those burns?"

He only saw Alex's back, not chest. Alex pulled his arm out of Snake's grip and replied in an emotionless voice, "Classified."

And that was when Snake lost it.

"IF YOU HAVE INJURIES, THEN YOU HAVE TO TELL ME! IT IS NOT CLASSIF...!"

Snake turned Alex so he could face him but what he saw made him freeze mid-word. Scars littered Alex's body but what caught Snake's attention the most was the bullet wound over his heart.

Wolf, Coyote, and Eagle heard Snake's shouting and went over to them to see what was going on.

Their eyes widened when they saw his chest. They were speechless. Alex glared at them.

Wolf spoke quietly, "Cub. Is that what I think it is?"

"Well, that depends on what you think it is?" He replied coolly.

"Do NOT make jokes, Cub!" Coyote snapped.

"Who said I was making jokes?" He asked, crossing his arms.

"How can you be so calm about this is?" Eagle looked stupefied.

"I got it a year ago. It doesn't matter anymore." He replied.

"Doesn't matte...? Cub, how the fuck are you still alive!?" Eagle shouted.

Snake didn't give Alex a chance to answer. "You have medication for this, right?"

Alex nodded, "Yes." He didn't really use it much but he wasn't going to say that.

Snake was about to say something else but Alex cut him off. "Look guys! It doesn't matter anymore and it doesn't hurt, so let it go."

He put on his shirt and left the four stunned soldiers.

K-unit stared at Cub's retreating back.

"Well... that went well." Eagle said, breaking the silence.

The hyper soldier winced at the glares sent his way.

Snake sighed, "I saw him rubbing his chest at least _three times_ now. There's no way it doesn't hurt."

"Well, we can always try my idea!" Coyote grinned.

"And I'll help!" Eagle threw his arm around Coyote's shoulder.

"I'm definitely going to try," Snake said with determination in his eyes. He cast a quick glance at Wolf and added, "And so will Wolf, right Wolf?"

"Of course," their unit leader stated. Eagle grinned and threw his other arm around Wolf. "I always knew you cared about him!"

Wolf looked up and shook his head as if saying, "Why me?" He shrugged Eagle's arm off and turned away from the others, saying, "Come on. We've got to get to the shooting range."

"I wonder if Cub's any good at shooting." Coyote thought out loud.

"I wonder if he's better than me," Eagle stated with a smug look.

"Well, for my ears' sake, I hope he is better than you." Wolf smirked and dodged the punch Eagle threw his way.

By the time they got there, Alex was waiting for them. They each picked a gun and were told to dismantle it. Alex picked up a Browning Auto-5 semi-automatic gun. He stripped it down and assembled it in 40 seconds flat. He picked up the newly assembled gun and looked up and was faced with four gaping soldiers.

The instructor gave a low whistle, "Impressive! Where did you learn how to do that?"

Alex shrugged. K-unit were still staring at him as if he just revealed that he's actually an alien from Mars. Alex squirmed in discomfort. He didn't like being in the center of attention.

After collecting his jaw off the ground, Wolf said, "Well, you might be good at assembling a gun but let's see if you're any good at actual shooting."

The soldiers each went to different places and chose their guns. The targets appeared in front of Alex and he let out a breath in relief. The targets weren't human cutouts, which he had been worrying about.

He closed his arms and let the gun become a part of him, just like how he was taught at Malagasto. He opened his eyes and quickly shot at the targets, getting a perfect bull's eye each time.

Almost 30 minutes later of continuous shooting, the soldiers compared scores.

"What's this, what's this?" Eagle tutted. "Only three bulls eyes. I thought you were better, Coyote."

Coyote rolled his eyes. He didn't know why they even compared scores. Eagle was practically unbeatable. All his bullets went straight in the center or near the center.

And just like always, Eagle never missed a chance to brag to the others.

"Hey Cub," Snake called out interrupting Eagle, who was in the middle of bragging to Wolf. "How did you do?"

Alex shrugged, "Okay."

"Come on! Let's see 'em!" Eagle snatched away the results, still happy that he was once again, the best at shooting.

The smile on Eagle's face froze for a second before his expression morphed into one of shock. "Damn," he whispered.

Upon seeing Eagle's awed expression, the others quickly went over to him and they too looked shocked at Alex's scores. Each bullet hit its mark, dead on. It looked like he only used one bullet instead of many. Not even Eagle, the best sharpshooter in camp, was this good. 

"That's pretty impressive, Cub," Wolf complimented him. Alex blinked. He hadn't expected Wolf of all people to compliment him. Alex nodded his head in thanks.

"Who taught you Cub?" Coyote asked, still amazed at his youngest teammate's results. "I think we need him here."

Alex just shrugged and left the shooting range.

The next week and a half passed by like a breeze. As each day passed, Alex got better at learning how to stay in control when fighting and thanks to his wonderful culinary skills, Alex was well liked among the soldiers, although he never really spoke to anyone. And speaking of soldiers, K-unit tried harder than ever to get Alex to open up, even Wolf... but no matter what they did, nothing broke the walls that Alex had so carefully built around him.

He knew that they were only trying to satisfy their own curiosity and that they didn't actually care about him. So Alex never spoke unless he was spoken to and even then, he only responded in nods, shaking his head, shrugging, or he gave them a three word response.

And usually after his unit were done with the exercises of the day, they would play pranks on other soldiers (Coyote and Eagle are the guilty ones), or just hang out in their cabin. And during that time, Alex spent his time in the woods around the camp. And since the guys went to bed late, Alex found himself still out by midnight. He went to sleep very late and always woke up before the others and this, combined with the fact that when he did sleep, he was plagued with horrible nightmares, left him quite knackered during the day.

K-unit often tried to help him and told him to get some sleep when they were done with their exercises for the day, but all Alex would do was ignore them and walk away and it frustrated the soldiers, especially Wolf, because he really was trying to help the agent. Coyote was trying harder than everybody else and he often went to look for Alex when it got dark. But of course, Alex knew this and avoided him. Alex didn't understand why Coyote was trying so hard to be nice to him but it annoyed him to no end.

Yup! Things were as normal as things got in the military, and it took quite a while before anything interesting happened.

K-unit minus Cub were all sitting in their cabin when one of the soldiers knocked on the door.

Eagle bounded over and opened the door with a cheery "Hello!"

It was Jackal from L-unit. "Hey guys! The Sergeant wants to speak to you."

"Now?" Wolf asked.

"Right now," Jackal responded with an amused look before leaving the four soldiers.

"Let's go, guys," Wolf said, standing up and walking towards the door.

The others followed and then Coyote suddenly remembered something. "Guys?" he asked. "Shouldn't Cub come with us?"

"Probably should," Eagle said. "Let's go find him!"

Wolf stopped him. "Just don't Eagle. You know how that guy is. We won't find him unless he wants to be found. Just forget it."

 _"Really!"_ Eagle complained. "But I _love_ hide and seek!"

Coyote and Snake chuckled and Wolf playfully punched him in the arm.

They got to the Sergeant's office and Wolf knocked. After hearing an "Enter!" they all filed in and stood to attention.

"At ease, soldiers," the Sergeant sat behind his old, brown desk with his hands clasped in front of him.

"I have just been notified that another one of MI6's agents will be staying here and that he will be tutoring Cub," the Sergeant told them.

 _Tutoring Cub?_ Coyote knew what they were all thinking so he spoke up. "Do you know who the agent is, sir?"

"I asked but they wouldn't tell me," the sarge replied. "Any other questions?"

"What do you mean tutoring Cub? Tutoring Cub about what?" Eagle asked.

"All they told me was that one of their agents is coming here to tutor Cub. They didn't tell me who it is or what he's going to teach Cub." The Sergeant replied.

He waited to see if anyone else had something to say and when no one did, he nodded and stood up. "I have a question for you." He walked around his desk and leaned back, gazing at the soldiers thoughtfully. "Where is Cub? Why isn't he with you?"

Coyote fake coughed and muttered to Wolf under his breath, "I told you so."

Wolf glared at the soldier and answered, "Cub always leaves us after we're done with the exercises of the day. Coyote usually tries to find him but he won't be found unless he wants to, sir."

"Did you find out anything about him at all?" The Sergeant asked.

Eagle answered this, "We found out some things, sir, but the harder we try, the more closed off he becomes."

"But what _did_ you find out?"

Eagle thought a little before saying, "The first day he was here, we all guessed how old he is. He didn't tell us but he said I was closest and I guessed he was 16. But... we're not sure if he was telling the truth or not." Eagle ended sheepishly.

The Sergeant looked a bit thoughtful. Sixteen was pretty young. And how many people had come here that were that young? Only one person, the Cub from a year ago. He wondered if they were the same. When it came to physical features, they looked a little bit alike. Both had blonde hair and brown eyes, though this Cub's brown eyes looked haunted.

"Anything else?" He asked again.

Wolf remembered something else that they had discovered the first day. "We found out that he has nightmares. He was whimpering in his sleep and then began pleading with someone named Jack."

"When I ran my hand through his hair, he calmed down," Coyote added.

An annoyed expression settled over Snake's face. "I had noticed him rubbing his chest a couple of times and when we went swimming, he wouldn't take off his shirt. But he took it off when we finished to squeeze the water out of it and his back and stomach were covered in scars, bruises, and burns. He also had a bullet wound over or near his heart. When we asked him about it, he said he got it a year ago and that it doesn't hurt."

The Sergeant slowly nodded. "You did well, soldiers, but keep trying. There's something strange about that agent."

Coyote sensed that the Sarge was about to dismiss them so he made a split second decision and asked the Sergeant a question that had been bothering him for a while.

"Sir," he said. "I wasn't here a year ago but I was wondering if this Cub and the Cub from before could be the same people. From what the others told me, they are both blonde and are both young."

"I admit... I have been thinking about that but I can't be sure. There are some things that are similar between them, but there's also a lot of differences."

Wolf spoke up, surprised. "Sir, forgive me but... how can they _possibly_ be the same?"

"Yeah," Eagle added. "The first Cub looked much younger than this one and he could barely keep up with us."

"And why wouldn't he tell us if he was?" Snake asked.

Coyote answered that. "Well, if he is, I wouldn't blame him for not telling us."

"What do you mean, soldier?" His boss asked.

Coyote turned toward him and said with an apologetic look at his teammates, "Wolf, Eagle, and Snake all told me that they treated him unkindly." Wolf looked at the ground guiltily but Coyote plowed on anyway. "Maybe he's just afraid that he is going to be treated the same as last time."

After this statement, the other soldiers were looking extremely guilty, especially Wolf, who had tried harder than anyone to make Cub's life hell. He kind of came to respect the kid when he saved his career by kicking him out of the plane and when he saw him going down a mountain on a makeshift snowboard.

After a small silence, the Sergeant sat back down in his seat and said, "Right! You're next mission is to find out whether he is the same Cub as last time. If he is, then he probably needs help in some way." The soldiers nodded in understanding. "Try your best. Dismissed."

The soldiers were at the doorway when the Sarge spoke up again. "And the next time I call you, make sure Cub is with you."

K- Unit stepped out of the Sergeant's office and Snake closed the door behind them. They learned something about Cub but they couldn't help feeling that all the information they got just raised more questions.

"Wow, did you guys realize that that was the first time the Sarge didn't yell at us? He spoke so calmly," Eagle said, astonished.

"I know, right. And he even agreed with me. I knew that the two Cubs were the same!" Coyote said with a smug expression.

"Actually, we still don't know for sure," Eagle pointed out. He saw Coyote's frown and added, "What an idiot!"

 _"Hey!"_ Coyote cried out. "Who are you calling an idiot?!"

"YOU!" Eagle shouted, laughing as Coyote started chasing him, getting amused looks from the other soldiers.

Wolf and Snake shook their heads at the two crazy soldiers and walked at a slower pace. "Do you think the two Cubs are the same?" Snake asked Wolf.

Wolf frowned. "I thought for sure that they weren't the same. None of us really remember how the first Cub looked because he was covered in mud for his short stay here. All we remember is that he was blonde and was young. There are lots of blonde soldiers here."

"Yeah, but none of them look as young as this Cub." Snake pointed out.

"So, you think that they are the same?"

"I really don't know what to think anymore," Snake admitted.

Wolf gave a frustrated sigh. "Why does Cub have to be so difficult? This guy is giving me a headache."

Snake chuckled. "I wonder where he is now anyway."

Alex jerked awake. His eyes were beginning to droop again. He was at the edge of the woods and he has been walking around aimlessly for the past two hours. All he wanted to do was curl up and go to sleep. He was absolutely exhausted. Alex looked longingly in the direction of his cabin. He knew his unit was there but he didn't have to talk to them.

 _"I'll go in silently and go straight to sleep,"_ He thought to himself.

With his new plan in mind, he set off towards his cabin. He was almost there when he looked down at himself and noticed that he was covered in mud. Lucky for him, it was dark and there was no one taking a shower.

Ten minutes later, Alex was clean and felt a bit more refreshed. He stood in front of his cabin and had his hand on the doorknob. He could hear Coyote and Eagle arguing from inside.

"You cheated!" Coyote accused Eagle.

"I did _not_! You're just jealous because I'm winning!"

"Me! Jealous of you! Stop being ridiculous! You _are_ cheating!"

"Prove it!"

This would be a perfect time for Alex to slip in. He opened the door silently and four pairs of eyes landed on him instantly. Coyote and Eagle were sitting on the floor and a deck of cards was spread out over the floor. Snake and Wolf were both sitting on opposite bunks and were looking at the two play cards. _"Well, maybe it wasn't the perfect time after all,"_ Alex sleepily thought.

Coyote broke the silence and shouted happily, "Hey Cub! Wanna join us?!"

"Yeah! I could show you some cheating techniques!" Eagle told him, grinning from ear to ear.

Alex, forgetting his plan of going straight to bed, snorted, "I've seen you play before, Eagle. You're the worst cheater I've ever met."

Wolf and Snake both raised an eyebrow at Cub's behavior while Coyote openly laughed at Eagle, who was spluttering in disbelief. Alex sat down on his bunk and pulled out one of his books to read.

"I told you you were a horrible cheater, Eagle," Coyote said, wiping away a tear of laughter.

Alex looked up for a moment and was about to read again when he noticed something different. There was an extra bunk in front of his own. Should he ask them? He wanted to know who the bed was for but he didn't want them thinking he was going to be nice to them. At the end, his curiosity won. He looked toward the soldiers again. Snake, Eagle, and Wolf were playing now and Coyote was watching them from his bunk... which was right next to Alex's.

He silently made his way over. Coyote noticed him and sat up. He motioned for Alex to sit down next to him, which Alex did. It was better to sit down and speak quietly than stand up and get everyone's attention.

Alex pointed to the extra bunk. "Who's the extra bed for?"

Coyote smiled. "About an hour ago, the Sergeant called us. He said that another agent is staying with us."

"Do you know who the agent is?" Alex asked.

"No," he replied. He looked at Alex uncertainly, as if debating whether to tell him more or not. Alex gave him a questioning look. "The Sergeant also told us that the agent was coming to tutor you."

Alex didn't bother trying to hide his surprise and confusion. "Tutor me? Tutor me for what?"

Coyote looked at him strangely. "We don't know," he told Alex. And just to make sure, he asked, "So you really don't know?"

"I don't. I never asked for a tutor and no one told me I was getting one." Alex genuinely looked confused.

"The Sarge also said that the next time he calls us, you have to be with us. So stay here from now on. Or at least somewhere near us."

Alex nodded, "All right."

Coyote dropped the topic and they sat in silence for a few moments. Alex, feeling that the silence was getting awkward, got up to leave, but Coyote pulled him back down. Alex raised his eyebrow at him. Coyote gave him a stare that made Alex feel like the soldier knew something about him. But Alex hid his discomfort and stared at him right back.

Finally, Coyote spoke, "How old are you, Cub?"

And with that one question, Alex knew. Coyote figured out who he was. He could see it in Coyote's unwavering stare. There was no point of hiding it anymore. He looked at the other soldiers. They were still arguing over the cards.

And although they weren't paying any attention to him, Alex still leaned close and whispered, "Fifteen."

Coyote's mouth instantly dropped and his eyes got really wide. Alex, afraid he was going to get everyone's attention, clamped his hand over Coyote's mouth and whispered, _"Shhh."_

Coyote visibly calmed down and Alex removed his hand. He stared at Coyote waiting to see what the soldier would say.

 _"Blimey,"_ he whispered, running his hand through his brown hair. "I knew you were young, but that's just...How are you an agent? You're much too young."

Alex shrugged. Coyote asked quietly, "Where are your parents?"

Alex looked at him in surprise. He wasn't expecting that question. "They died a few weeks after I was born. I was raised by my uncle but he died a year ago. I then lived with my housekeeper turned guardian, Jack Starbright." Alex finished, briefly wondering why he was even talking at all.

Coyote's eyes widened when he heard the name. The first day Alex had a nightmare, he kept on saying the name 'Jack.' That must be who he was talking about.

"And where's he now?" He asked.

"It's a lady," Alex said. At Coyote's look of confusion, he clarified, "Jack is a she, not a he. And she died."

Coyote nodded sadly. _Didn't the kid have anyone left?_ "So you are the same Cub as last time, right?" He asked.

Alex immediately looked to see if anyone else heard, but the others were still lost in their own world. "Yes," he answered. "How did you figure it out?" Alex was truly curious.

"Well, the others told me about the "first Cub." And from what they said, you're both blonde and young. I told them that you two could be the same, but they all said that there was no way that both Cubs were the one person. It made sense, but sometimes, I look at you and you look so young. I didn't want to dismiss the idea until I was sure that you two were the same or weren't the same."

"How could they not have gotten it? We both have the same name. That should've been enough to make the suspicious."

Coyote shrugged, then ruffled the agent's, the _fifteen_ year old _agent's_ , hair. "Thank you for telling me," Coyote whispered.

Alex looked away and let silence descend over them. Alex spoke suddenly, startling Coyote, "Don't tell the others."

"Why not?" Coyote asked, surprised and curious.

"Just don't! Please!" Alex pleaded, letting his child like voice shine through each word.

Coyote looked at him with a calculating eye. "You're afraid of them." It wasn't stated like a question, it was stated like a fact.

Alex looked away in shame. He didn't mean to sound so scared. It just came out accidentally.

"You have nothing to be afraid of," Coyote continued. Alex still wouldn't meet his eyes, aware of the other soldiers leaving the room. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

Alex's head snapped up, surprised. Coyote clarified, "I know the others weren't nice to you before," he said gently, "but I know that they wouldn't treat you the same way now. I don't know what you've been through, Cub, and I won't pretend like I do, but I promise I'll be here if you ever need someone to talk to. I care about you. I know you think I don't, but I promise you Cub, I really _do_ care about you. And I want to help you, but you just got to give me a chance."

Alex still didn't say anything. "If it makes you feel better, I promise I won't tell the others. You can trust me, okay? You can trust us."

So many thoughts were swirling in Alex's head, it hurt. He wanted to believe Coyote, but he was afraid. Afraid that if he did, then he would betray him like everyone else and Alex would be hurt again. He didn't know what to think. He wished he could just go to sleep and when he wakes up, everything would be okay again. He wished he would be back home, playing with Ian and Jack. But sadly, that's not the way things work.

He closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them and stared right into Coyote's ocean blue eyes.

"No," he whispered. "I don't believe you."

Coyote looked so hurt and Alex felt bad. He added, "You're a stranger to me. I don't know you and I don't trust you."

Even as the words left his mouth, Alex didn't believe them. Coyote _did_ care about him. That much was obvious.

Coyote wrapped an arm around Alex and when Alex didn't pull away, he spoke quietly and slowly. "I understand. But I swear to you Cub that I only want to help you. I only want the best for you. Didn't anyone ever tell you that it's okay to let down your walls? Didn't anyone ever tell you that it's okay to let people in? Guard your heart if you have to, but don't shut it away."

And just like that, Alex broke down into tears. He put his head in Coyote's chest and cried. He cried for everything. Ian's death, Jack's death, all the times he put up his walls and refused to let anyone in, all the times he had been hurt. Every emotion that had been bottled up inside him finally escaped through every tear that was shed.

And for the first time, someone pulled him closer.

 **Finallyyyyy, I am finished with chapter number 7. I am so, so, so sorry that I took such a long time. I've been really sick the past two weeks and I've had so many projects to do, I simply didn't have time to write. This chapter is pretty long and although there isn't a lot of action, I hope I did enough to make it up to you all. Again, I'm so sorry. If you all want me to update quicker, you know what to do. Reviews always inspire me. And I don't mind flames either. I'm actually expecting them and I appreciate honestly. So please tell me what you all think of this chapter.**

 **Night Riders**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 7**

 **I'm baaaack! Anyone miss me? No. Fine. Anyway, thanks to those who reviewed. I'm feeling much better. Still can't believe it took 3 weeks to heal from a** _ **cold.**_ **Serves me right for refusing to see a doctor. Also, projects are almost done. I only have one and it's due at the end of this month. And spaces in the seventh chapter haven't been deleted and I think I know why. For chapters 1-6, I posted them on the app and the seventh chapter was posted on a computer. The app is messed up so that's why there's so many formatting issues. You know, I think I'm making this very complicated by first typing this chapter on my email, copying and pasting it to Microsoft, and then publishing it. Eh, well. You guys are worth the trouble.**

 **Disclaimer: All rights go to Anthony Horowitz.**

 _And for the first time, someone pulled him closer._

Eagle kicked a stone on the ground and complained for the tenth time, _"Come on!_ They've got to be done talking now!"

"Shut up, Eagle!" Snake told him.

"I'm tired," he complained again.

"I thought you said you wanted to know more about Cub," Wolf said.

"Yeah, but it's not like Coyote's gonna tell us," he pointed out.

Wolf stopped walking abruptly and Eagle crashed right into him. Eagle glared at him, but Wolf ignored him and asked, "What do you mean "Coyote isn't going to tell us?"

"I mean... well, if Cub is going to tell Coyote anything, it's because he trusts him, not us. So he's definitely going to tell him to keep it a secret. And if Coyote tells us anything..."

"He'd be betraying Cub's trust," Snake finished.

"Exactly!"

"Wow," Wolf said, smirking at Eagle. "I think that's the first time I heard you say something smart. I'm so proud."

"Humph!" Eagle stalked away. "I'm sure they're done. Let's go! I'm tired." He told the others, looking over his shoulder.

Wolf and Snake quickly followed their teammate.

Back at the cabin, Coyote hugged Alex to him and simply let him cry. And it was a good few minutes before Alex's sobs reduced to sniffles and then silence. And even then, Coyote refused to let go.

Alex wrapped his arms around Coyote and looked up at him. He immediately looked back down in embarrassment.

Coyote chuckled, "You have nothing to be embarrassed about."

"You must think I'm weak," Alex whispered after a long silence.

Coyote's face softened. "No I don't. Crying doesn't make you weak." Then he added. "Being arrogant and never asking for help even when you need it makes you weak."

Alex tightened his grip on Coyote for a moment and then let go. "Thank you."

Coyote wanted to hug him again when he heard the depth of gratitude in those two words. "I'm happy to help, Cub."

Alex tried to stifle a yawn but Coyote caught it anyway. He stood up and extended his hand to Alex, saying,

"Come on. You should get some sleep. Heaven knows you need it." He muttered the last part under his breath.

Alex walked over to his bunk and laid down. Coyote pulled the thin blanket from underneath his legs and tucked him in.

"Goodnight Coyote," Alex said sleepily.

Coyote smiled and sat at the edge of Alex's bed. "Goodnight Cub. Sleep well."

He kept running his hand through Alex's messy blonde hair until the boy finally fell asleep. Coyote removed his hand and looked down at the boy fondly. His face looked relaxed and peaceful. Sudden fury pounded through his veins as he remembered the battlefield of scars that littered Alex's body. Who would do such a horrible thing to a child?

He was broken out of his reverie as the door opened and in trampled Eagle, Wolf, and Snake. He sincerely hoped they wouldn't ask him anything.

Wolf and Snake sat on their bunks but Eagle, ever the hyper one, bounded over to Alex's bed.

He took one look at Alex's peaceful face before his face broke into a grin. "Like I said before, simply _adorable."_

Coyote looked at Eagle and asked, quite bluntly. "Eagle? Are you gay?"

"No," Eagle said defensively. "Are you?"

"No," Coyote replied, a bit suspicious at the malicious glint in Eagle's eye.

 _"Really?"_ Eagle said, grinning triumphantly.

He walked over to Coyote's bed and pulled out a bag from underneath it. Coyote immediately tensed up. Eagle rummaged in the bag for a little bit before pulling out a photograph.

"Then what's this photo of you and..."Eagle squinted. "Mark kissing doing here?" He waved the photograph in front of his face.

Coyote snatched it out of his hand. "That was _three years ago!_ And how the hell did you know I had it?"

"Found it in my weekly search through your belongings," Eagle announced, immediately regretting it after Coyote's disbelieving "What?"

Eagle yelped and made a dash for the door, Coyote hot on his heels.

Wolf picked up the photograph from where Coyote threw it and said, grinning, "Never thought Coyote batted for the other team!

Snake laughed. "Poor guy. I'm starting to see days of endless teasing about this."

A few minutes later, a grinning Coyote and groaning Eagle came in.

"Oh Snake! Help me! I'm wounded." Eagle cried out dramatically.

Snake snorted. "Serves you right for going through someone else's personal belongings." Coyote laughed.

"It was _necessary._ We're teammates. We're like _family._ We can't hide secrets from one another. I was just checking out some stuff to see if Coyote has ever lied to us."

"Why would I lie to you?! You guys are my best friends!" Coyote asked, a hurt expression on his face.

"Don't ask me. Ask yourself. I mean... you never told us you were gay, did you?" Eagle said.

"That's personal! Do I have to tell you every little thing about me?"

Wolf joined the conversation. "And that's not really lying. It's just... never bringing it up. There's a difference."

"Exactly! Thank you Wolf." Coyote said, glaring at Eagle who just shrugged.

Snake looked at Eagle suspiciously as a thought occurred to him. "Hey Eagle? Have you ever looked through my stuff? Or Wolf's?"

"I did a couple of times." Wolf and Snake gave him a death glare. Afraid they might kill him, he hastily added. "But I stopped. Coyote had a lot more interesting things."

Coyote rolled his eyes. "And," Eagle added. "One time, I even found chocolate in his bag."

Coyote immediately took his bag and began looking for his chocolate. He picked up a wrapper. "You ate it!" He shouted, crestfallen.

"I didn't eat _all_ of it! There's 5 chocolate bars left!" He replied.

Coyote smacked Eagle on his arm and gave Wolf and Snake a bar each. They thanked him and immediately ripped open the wrapper and ate the sweet chocolate.

"Do I get any?" Eagle asked hopefully.

"I _was_ going to give you all, but you already ate your share. Sorry." Coyote answered in a tone that showed that he wasn't the least bit sorry. He put the bag back under his bed and laid down on his bunk. Eagle opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off.

"Let's get some sleep guys," Wolf said, yawning. Eagle and Snake copied Coyote and Wolf turned off the light.

Cub opened his eyes. Time to get up. He swung his legs off his bed and stretched. He had the best night of his sleep. He had no nightmares and no interruptions and he felt great.

He looked at each of the sleeping soldiers and lastly, his eyes fell upon Coyote. He got dressed and left the room. His thoughts traveled to when he fell apart in Coyote's arms last night. Alex was glad the man hadn't made fun of him for crying but still, he broke down in tears _in front of him._ Alex didn't think it was possible for someone to feel more embarrassed than he felt at that moment.

But he had to admit, it was better to cry in front of Coyote then someone else, like Wolf. Alex shuddered. Now that would've been embarrassing _and_ horrifying.

Alex didn't really know what to think of Coyote. From what he'd seen of him, Coyote had Eagle's craziness and Snake's calm and gentle personality. He was very kind. Alex felt like he could trust him. Of course, he didn't trust him like he trusted Ben, but he felt like he could trust him with little things. He seemed to really care about Alex. Coyote's an extremely friendly person and is very protective of Alex. And Alex loved that. It was a wonderful feeling that warmed him up and made him happy. It's also a feeling he had only experienced when he was with his uncle Ian.

Alex reached the mess hall and got his breakfast. The mess hall was half full. He ate his breakfast in silence and ignored the sideways glances that some of the soldiers gave him. The mess hall door opened and the Sergeant walked in. The soldiers, including Alex, all rose out of their seats as one and stood to attention.

"At ease soldiers!" The Sergeant shouted loudly.

Alex sat back down and picked up his spoon. Conversations started up all around him. A shadow fell across Alex and he looked up. It was the Sergeant. Out of habit, Alex snapped to attention instantly.

"At ease," he said calmly. The Sergeant sat down in across from him.

Alex sat down slowly, still eyeing the Sergeant and wondering why he was here. He picked up his spoon again and shoved a spoonful of mush into his mouth. Then he got up, dumped his bin on the counter and returned to his seat, clasping his hands together in front of him. The Sergeant stared at him for a little bit. Finally, he spoke up.

"Can I ask you a couple of questions, Cub?"

Alex didn't really want to answer his questions but he wasn't about to say no to the Sergeant.

Alex shrugged, "Sure."

"Will you tell me the truth?" He asked.

Alex narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Depends on what the question is, sir." Alex chose his words carefully.

The Sergeant shifted in his seat and leaned closer. "A year ago, a teenage boy whose name was also Cub came to _this very_ camp. I was wondering if you two might somehow be the same person." The tone he used made him sound like he already knew the truth but needed Alex to confirm it.

Alex didn't know whether to tell him the truth or not, so he asked him a question. "Sir, why did you name me Cub?"

"Because you reminded me of the first Cub. You're both young, handsome, and have blonde hair. When I saw you, Cub was the first name that popped into my mind so that's what I decided to call you."

Alex wondered how long the Sergeant has been thinking this but he didn't ask. He decided to tell him the truth. Besides, the Sergeant was actually nice the last time he was here.

"I am Cub. The same Cub from a year ago." He said, watching the Sergeant's reaction carefully.

The Sergeant didn't show any sign of surprise. "And how old are you?"

First Coyote, now the Sarge. Alex wondered what was going on. "I'm fifteen, sir. I was fourteen the last time I was here."

This time, the Sergeant looked shocked and suddenly his eyes were blazing with anger. "And why is a fifteen year old boy working for a spy agency?" He whispered furiously.

Alex looked down. "Classified." The Sergeant narrowed his eyes. He opened his mouth to say something but Alex beat him to it. "Look, sir. I'm really sorry about this. I have my reasons for doing what I do and I never asked to be here. I don't want to bother the soldiers or anger you," he ended. He thought that the Sergeant was mad at him and that was the last thing he wanted.

So Alex was very surprised when the anger dissipated from his eyes and he said softly, "I'm not mad at you, Cub. I'm mad at Blunt for using a child to do his dirty work."

Alex looked at him with a bemused expression. The Sergeant noticed this and clarified, "You came here standing straight and tall. Your face showed no emotion but the air around you was filled with confidence and professionalism. However, you still looked very young. You wouldn't tell your unit anything about yourself no matter how hard they tried to befriend you. You did your best to avoid the soldiers and that marked you as mysterious. You have nightmares (Alex tensed up) and you lost control once when you were fighting, almost _killing_ your teammate. And now I find out that you are, in fact, _fifteen_ years old. How do you think I feel?"

Alex didn't know but he took a guess, "Uhh... mad?

The Sergeant sighed, "I'm concerned, Cub. You're just a child but you look like you've been through horrible experiences. And I'm mad that someone hurt a child. Our job is to protect children, not hurt them."

Alex had to admit, the way the Sergeant put everything made him stop and think. Teenagers worry about whether they did their homework, not whether they're going to live long enough to see the next day. So the soldiers were being nice to him because they were _concerned?_ The thought almost made him laugh. Sure. He was young. But he was capable of doing all the things that they were doing. He could shoot, swim, run, and complete grueling tasks.

This was ridiculous. They had no reason to be concerned.

But then...if he truly didn't need any help, then why did he cry just last night?

Alex never wanted to become a spy. He still hates it. He didn't want Jack to die. He didn't want to kill anyone. He didn't want to stare down the barrel of a gun. But he did. He was forced to. And Alex hated the way he was treated. He wished he could be free. But he had become accustomed to being treated like a tool instead of a human. He wished someone would free him from Blunt's clutches, but that seemed impossible. And so he thought that there was no way anyone could help. He thought he didn't need help. But he did, it's just no one would be able to help him in a situation like this.

He wished he could trust his unit but he was afraid. And he wasn't just afraid that they might betray him. He was afraid that they might help him. Because people think they can help but they soon find out that they actually can't. And they usually die or get hurt because of it. Like Jack, Tom, and Sabina's family. They all wanted to help him in some way but they couldn't and now they were dead.

Well, Tom was still alive but Alex didn't think he'd see him again. And the thought of that saddened him. Tom was like his brother. They did everything together and they were always there for each other, no matter how hard things got. And now, when they needed each other most, they couldn't be together.

Alex felt tears well up in his eyes. The Sergeant put his hand over Alex's hand. Alex blinked and looked at him.

"You okay?" He asked softly.

"Yeah," Alex slowly nodded. "Don't tell my unit who I am!" He added abruptly, taking the Sergeant by surprise.

"Why not?" He asked.

"Please just don't. I told Coyote but no one else knows and I want to keep it that way. Please." The Sergeant heard the pleading in his voice.

"Why did you only tell Coyote?" He asked.

Alex thought about this. He really didn't know why. He barely knew Coyote and everything just, kind of... spilled out.

"I don't know," Alex said at last. "He already figured it out who I am. I just confirmed it. Then he kept on asking me questions and I don't know, I just... told him."

The Sergeant smiled. "I'm glad you told someone. Coyote cares about you. So do the others. They're trying to help you but you keep pushing them away."

Alex remembered his previous visit to this place. And he remembered the way they treated him. How was he supposed to trust the people who hurt him?

Alex's expression darkened and he said in a cold voice, "I don't care. I don't trust them and I won't tell them anything that doesn't concern them."

The Sergeant knew exactly why Alex didn't want to tell them anything and he didn't bother keeping that thought a secret.

"You're afraid."

Alex's anger vanished. Coyote said the same thing. He must be losing his touch if people could read him so easily. He looked at the Sergeant, waiting for him to explain.

"Coyote wasn't here the first time you came and he didn't treat you the way the others did. Wolf did everything he can to make your stay here awful. Eagle and Snake ignored you. You don't want to tell them about yourself because they treated you horribly. I understand that."

Alex was surprised. He was about to say something but he sensed that the Sergeant wasn't done speaking so he remained silent.

"I understand how you feel. But Cub, they _do_ care about you. They might've treated you poorly before, but they care about you now. They want to help you. Just give them a chance."

Alex shook his head and argued. "They want to help me now because they don't know who I am. If they knew that _I'm_ the Cub they knew before, nothing would change. They would treat me the way they did before."

The Sergeant clasped his hands together and looked at Alex. The boy squirmed in discomfort. The Sergeant's gaze made Alex feel like a bug under a microscope. Finally, he spoke again, but in a calm and gentle tone.

"I know my soldiers, Cub. I know them better than you do. They all feel guilty when they remember how they treated you. Especially Wolf." He stopped for a moment and looked at Alex uncertainly, as if debating whether to tell him something or not.

"What?" Alex prompted.

"We spoke about this. When I told them that an agent was going to come here, we talked about you afterwards." Alex felt anger surge through him. He was supposed to trust the people who talked about him behind his back? He clenched his fists. The Sergeant laid his hand over Alex's and he relaxed slightly.

"Don't assume the wrong things until you hear me out, okay? Like I was saying, we talked about you. And we all had one goal in mind. And that was to help you. We discussed what we knew about you and then Coyote was the one who said that you and the Cub from before are the same person. This was before you confirmed Coyote's suspicions." He hastily added before Alex would think that Coyote betrayed him.

"I still don't want to tell them anything. I'm not a person who trusts easily. And all the people that I've trusted are either dead or hurt. I don't want anything bad happening to them because of me."

The Sergeant didn't know how to respond to that. "Won't you at least give them a chance? They all think that you're the original Cub anyway and they're still trying to help you. Don't make this hard for them."

"Maybe I will tell them. But not now. Not until I know I can trust them. I trust Coyote a little. He's tried harder than the others. He's a friendly guy and he's very kind. I like him. The others...not so much. And the only reason I'm telling you this is because I trust you. Please don't make me regret this."

The Sergeant sighed, "I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to but I still think you should tell them. Or at least give them a chance. They're worried about you."

Alex shook his head. "I know what's good for me and what isn't. I wouldn't try avoiding them if I was sure it would help me. I trusted you so please trust me. Trust my decisions."

"All right. But you can't deny the fact that you need help." The Sergeant sure was persistent.

Alex looked at him. The Sergeant stared back, waiting to see if Alex would deny it.

"You're right," Alex replied, his voice breaking a little. "I need help. But no soldier can help me. If l need to talk to someone, I have friends. I'm fine." Alex didn't bother telling him that he had only two friends.

The Sergeant nodded. He was really worried but the kid was _stubborn_. He just prayed that the kid would be all right. The Sarge had two kids and he would be mortified if they were spies. His kids meant the world to him.

The Sergeant reached over and hugged Alex, "Please take care of yourself." A bunch of soldiers stopped talking and watched their fearsome Sergeant _hug_ someone. The Sergeant noticed the drop in noise level and turned around, giving a death glare to the soldiers, who turned back around and began talking like nothing happened.

Alex smiled. The _Sergeant_ hugged him. This had to be a miracle. No one would believe him. Well, there really wasn't anyone to tell. But still, it made Alex feel happy. The Sergeant let go of him, gave him a grin, and walked away. Alex was stared after him with a smile on his face, still thinking about what just happened. He was so lost in thought, that he didn't notice someone coming up next to him.

"Hey Cub! Whatcha smiling at?!

Alex turned around and came face to face with the one and only, Eagle. Wolf, Snake, and Coyote were behind him. The grins that they all wore wiped the smile off Alex's face and he immediately became suspicious.

Why were you smiling?" Eagle repeated.

"No reason," Alex said immediately. He would never tell _Eagle_ anything. Not even with something as simple as a hug.

Snake rolled his eyes, "Don't lie Cub. We all saw the Sarge hugging you."

 _Crap._

Wolf grinned, "Yeah, I never knew you and the Sarge..."

Alex flushed with embarrassment. "Oh God, _no!"_ He spluttered.

The soldiers cracked up at his expression. Eagle stopped and put a hand on Alex's shoulder.

"You know Cub, if you ever need a hug...we're here for you." He actually sounded sincere but Alex knew better. He tried to get away but Snake stopped him.

Coyote wiped away a tear of laughter and added, "Yeah! Wolf here gives the best hugs ever! Don't be shy."

Wolf grinned at him wolfishly and extended his arms. Alex's eyes widened dramatically and the soldiers practically fell on the floor with laughter. Alex walked around them, dodging their half-hearted attempts at stopping him, and ran out the door. He didn't stop until he reached the killing house. He leaned against the wall and slumped down to the ground.

He groaned. That was _so_ embarrassing. Alex didn't think he'd be able to look the soldiers in the eye again. He wanted the annoying, trying-to-find-out-more-about-him soldiers back. Actually no, he just wanted k-unit to leave him _alone._ Was that really too much to ask for? He brought his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. With luck, they might not bring up that conversation again. Alex put his head on his arms and drifted off to sleep.

Alex felt like it was only a couple of seconds before he was woken up. He saw four pairs of feet and his head snapped up. K-unit were grinning down at him with their arms crossed. Alex slowly stood up and Snake chuckled.

"Glad you decided to join the land of the living!"

Sorry," Alex muttered.

Wolf ruffled Alex's hair causing the others to chuckle. Alex, however, scowled heavily at him. Which only served to make Wolf grin wider. "Let's go!"

The soldiers and Alex followed Wolf into the killing house.

After going through the killing house, doing 20 laps in the lake, and attending their lectures class, Alex and K-unit ran into Lynx from L-unit.

"Hey Lynx!" Eagle smiled.

Lynx grinned back, "Hey Eagle! Hey guys! The Sergeant wants to speak to you. And he said make sure Cub is with you."

"All right." Wolf thanked him and the soldier left. K-unit smirked at Cub, who was standing three feet behind them. Alex just shrugged and walked toward the Sergeant's office. Once there, Wolf knocked twice on the door.

 _"Enter!"_

The soldiers followed the brusque command and stood to attention. The Sergeant saluted back and they relaxed slightly but not Alex. He tensed up. Something was wrong here. He saw a movement in the corner of his eyes. Someone was hiding in the shadows. Alex didn't dare turn around.

"Cub's tutor has arrived. He has the same schedule as you. And Cub, I was told that you can speak Arabic fluently?" Alex nodded. "Good. Instead of taking a language class, you will be with your tutor. You will stay one hour with him every day. The heads of MI6 said that the tutor will help you catch up on your schoolwork. Any questions?" The Sergeant ended.

The soldiers looked surprised. They knew Cub was young, but seriously, he was still in school? The only ones who weren't fazed by this news were Coyote and the Sergeant and that was because they knew how old Alex really was. But they did give Alex a curious glance when Alex's eyes widened and then narrowed in anger. Alex knew for a fact that Blunt wouldn't help him unless he was planning something else. Alex clenched his fists and his jaw tightened, but he didn't say anything.

Wolf recovered from his shock the first and asked, "Where is his tutor? You said he arrived?"

The Sergeant nodded and looked in the corner that Alex had seen a movement in earlier. A grinning black haired, blue eyed man stepped out of the shadows. Alex felt a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. The soldiers looked shocked but grinned at the agent. Coyote's reaction though, surprised Alex the most. And by the looks the soldiers had on their faces, they were surprised too.

Coyote tackled the agent to the ground and shouted happily, "Ben!"

Ben Daniels laughed, "Hey Aaron! How are you?"

Ben and Coyote stood up and embraced each other tightly.

Coyote was still shocked. "Oh my God! I never... This is amazing! I missed you so much."

Ben hugged him again, "I missed you too. It's been so long."

At this point, everyone, including the Sergeant, was just watching the conversation, completely confused. Ben turned to K-unit and grinned.

"Hey! Anybody miss me?"

Eagle grinned back and said, "No. Not really."

Wolf cuffed Eagle over the head and hugged Ben, "Of course we missed you."

Snake hugged him as well, "So glad to see you again!"

Ben turned to Eagle and held out his arms expectantly. Eagle sighed, "I missed you too."

"Of course you did," Ben said with a smirk. Eagle rolled his eyes.

The soldiers almost forgot about the Sergeant but then he spoke up, his voice filled with curiosity, "So. Coyote, Fox, how do you know each other?"

Both men looked at each other affectionately and Ben smiled and replied. "We were best friends in school. We've known each other since kindergarten."

Eagle crossed his arms. "We've talked about Fox lots of times. How come you never told us you knew him?"

Coyote raised his eyebrow. "How am I supposed to know who you're talking about if you say 'Fox'?"

"Oh. Right. Silly me."

Alex watched all this silently. So that's how Ben and Coyote knew each other. And Coyote's real name was Aaron. Alex filed that information for later. He wondered whether he should say something or not. He was happy to see Ben but the guy didn't even seem to notice him. Alex had to admit, he was a bit hurt by that. Alex shifted a little and Ben caught the movement.

"Oh my God! Alex! How could I forget my own student?" Alex gave him a shy smile.

Ben scooped Alex into his arms. Alex laughed, "Ben!"

This was the first time anyone has heard Alex laugh. He had an adorable, child-like laugh. And his good mood was contagious. Soon everyone was grinning and laughing.

Ben grinned and put Alex down. Alex smiled back and gave him a bone crushing hug.

"Okay Alex. That's enough. Can't. Breathe."

Alex laughed and loosened his grip on the older spy. "We're going to have so much fun together!" Ben told him happily.

Alex smirked, "And I'll see just how much of a lousy teacher you are."

Ben smacked him on the arm playfully. "I'm a great teacher. And I'll make learning fun. We can put on plays, sing, and dance. You'll love it!"

Snake chuckled, "Cub. Singing and dancing. Can we watch?"

"Yes!" Ben said at the same time Alex said, "No!"

The soldiers waited for them to come to an agreement and when it was apparent that they wouldn't, Coyote said, "We're coming."

"No. You're not." Alex told him in the same tone he used.

"Why are you so shy?" Wolf asked.

Alex suddenly became defensive. "I'm _not_ shy."

"Good," Coyote grinned. "Now that we know you're not shy, we're coming."

"Tell them they can't come, Ben!" Alex insisted.

"You guys can come," Ben said. The soldiers cheered and Alex smacked Ben. Then, remembering that Ben didn't know that K-unit didn't know who he really was, he whispered in Ben's ears.

"K-unit doesn't know that I'm the Cub from before. Don't tell them anything about me."

"Hey! No keeping secrets!" Eagle shouted.

Ben ignored him, "Why don't you tell them?"

"Tell who what?" Snake asked.

Alex whispered to Ben again, "They didn't recognize me when I first came here so I decided not to tell them. And they don't know anything about me besides the fact that I'm young spy."

Ben whispered back," Do they know how old you are?"

Alex shook his head. Ben continued, "I won't tell them anything. Your secrets are safe with me." He ended, giving Alex a wink.

The whole time, the only thing the soldiers saw were Alex and Ben going back and forth whispering in each other's ears.

"You guys planning on telling us anything?" Wolf asked.

Alex shook his head and left the Sergeant's cabin. The others followed him, laughing and talking the whole way there. Once they reached there, each soldier collapsed on their bed. Ben, remembering something, went over to Alex's bunk and sat down next to him.

Upon seeing this, Eagle quickly got off his bed and sat on Alex's bed as well. "No way! Uh uh! There will be no more secrets!" He said, giving the others a pointed look. Wolf, Snake, and Coyote grinned and settled themselves on or around Alex's bed. The two spies rolled their eyes.

Ben wasn't sure how to ask Alex his question without the others finding out what he means. Finally, he asked Alex, "Do you feel better now?"

Alex turned to look at him but the spy was staring up at the ceiling. "What do you mean?"

Ben turned and looked at him. "The fire."

Snake immediately sat up straight when he heard the word 'fire.' He saw all the burns on Alex's back. They looked pretty recent. He could put two and two together. But just to be sure, he asked, "What fire?"

The others were curious as well and they were all thinking the same things as Snake. Nobody answered him. Alex simply ignored him and told Ben softly, "I'm better. I wasn't thinking straight before and I did the first thing that came to my mind. I regret it now."

"But what if you didn't make it? What if you actually died?" Ben sounded scared. And worried.

Now, the rest of K-unit were worried as well, even though they weren't sure what the two were talking about. Wolf looked like he wanted to say something but Coyote squeezed his arm, silently telling him to stay quiet and listen to Alex's response.

"I did make it, Ben. And I regret it now."

Ben shook his head and argued, "But what if you _didn't?"_

Alex was quiet for so long that Ben thought he was going to ignore him. But then he answered, his voice a little sad. "If I did die, I would've been happy. That's what I wanted most before. I didn't like being alone. I wanted to be back with my family."

Coyote knew Alex's family was dead and if Alex wanted to join them, then...

"You're suicidal?" Wolf asked. He sounded shocked and angry.

Alex turned to look at him. He had forgotten they were there. "That's none of your business." Alex stated coldly.

"We're your unit," Wolf bit back. "If you're suicidal, then we're supposed to know. Suicide isn't a funny matter."

"It's not important," Alex shrugged.

The other soldiers had been staring at him with a look of sadness, anger, and concern. But now they snapped out of it.

"That is _extremely_ important. If you're having suicidal thoughts, you're supposed to tell us," Coyote snapped.

Alex opened his mouth to say something but closed it again. Coyote _never_ spoke to him in such a cold tone. Coyote saw the look of hurt on the boy's face and his expression softened. He tried to put his hand on Alex's shoulder, but Alex shuffled closer to Ben, who put a protective arm around him.

"Are you still suicidal?" Eagle asked, worried.

Alex shook his head and Eagle let out a breath in relief. Snake spoke gently, "So you're not having any more suicidal thoughts?"

Alex shook his head again. "No. It was only one time."

"And you chose to _burn_ to death?" Eagle asked, his face showing complete disbelief.

Alex shrugged. "My adoptive family died in the fire. I wanted to...join them."

Coyote hugged Alex tightly. "Oh Alex!" He said softly. The boy inhaled sharply. This was the first time one of the soldiers used his real name. Coyote's voice cracked a bit. He sounded like he was trying to fight back a sob. " _Please,_ don't ever hide something like that from us again!"

Alex hugged him back. "Sorry." He said sincerely. "It was only one time and I didn't think it was important."

Coyote looked him straight in the eye. "If you have even one thought of suicide, you need to tell someone. How'd you think we'd feel if you died and we could've helped you?"

Alex looked at the other soldiers and he got his answer. Eagle and Snake looked sad and concerned. Wolf looked as if he might kill anyone who tried to harm Alex. And a single tear ran down Ben's cheek.

Alex's throat closed up. He wanted to apologize again but he didn't trust himself to speak. Instead, he snuggled closer to Ben and the older spy pressed a kiss into Alex's hair and wrapped his arms around the boy, comforting both himself and Alex. Snake covered them with a blanket. Soon, the two fell asleep.

Alex groggily opened his eyes. He felt warm. Alex turned on his side and was faced with Ben's sleeping face. Alex almost jumped back in shock. He took a deep breath and snuggled closer to Ben, enjoying the small moment of parental affection. Alex felt something on his foot. He looked up in confusion and discovered that Eagle was sleeping over his feet. Alex sat up, bemused. Snake, Wolf, and Coyote were sleeping near Alex's bed. He remembered last night's events and his mouth opened, forming an 'o,' as the events of the previous day rushed back at him. The soldiers must have been too tired to sleep on their own beds.

Alex turned back to Ben. He would get up in a few minutes. He snuggled closer to Ben's side and the older man threw his arm over Alex's body, causing Alex to open his eyes in surprise. Ben smiled at him and Alex smiled shyly back.

Ben caressed Alex's cheek and whispered, "Time to get up. Yeah?"

Alex nodded, pulled his feet from under Eagle's body and swung his legs off his bed, narrowly missing kicking Coyote's head. The cold air immediately washed over Alex's skin. Ben appeared next to him and chuckled. "We should wake them up."

Alex took a step back. They found out too much about him yesterday and he wanted to avoid them. He didn't want them thinking that he would become friends with them just because Ben was here. Ben noticed this and whispered, "You don't have to wake them up. You can wait."

Alex shook his head and got dressed. When he finished, he turned to Ben, "I'll go ahead."

"Okay," Ben replied, kissing Alex's forehead. "We'll see you later."

Alex hugged him and left. Ben sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He would never betray Alex, but he was determined to get Alex to become friends with the soldiers. He just didn't know how he was going to do that yet.

He turned around and began waking up the soldiers.

Alex grabbed a tray of mush and sat down at a table.

He loved Ben. But just because he was here didn't mean Alex was allowed to let his guard down. The soldiers were smart. They'd use Ben to get to Alex.

He was almost done eating when K-unit, plus Ben, came in. Alex shook his head in amusement. Did they have to always come late?

When the soldiers were walking to their table, Ben stopped and frowned at Alex before moving on.

Ben sat between Eagle and Coyote and whispered furiously, pointing at Alex, "Why is he sitting alone?!"

Wolf gave him a confused look then he saw where Ben was pointing. "Who, Cub? He's always sitting alone. Ever since his first day here."

Ben frowned, "Why don't any of you sit next to him?"

The soldiers looked at each other, guilty and ashamed. Coyote spoke up, "Every time we tried to talk to him, he ignores us or pushes us away. He does everything he can to avoid us. When you hugged him yesterday, that was the first time we've seen him laugh."

Ben knew he didn't want to be friends with the soldiers, but this was too much. Ben had to help the poor child. He was broken out of his thoughts when Alex got up, dumped his tray on the counter, and left the mess hall. Ben sighed. This was going to be difficult.

"You know Cub from before. Can you tell us anything about him?" Eagle asked, with a mouthful of food.

"Can't tell you. Sorry." Ben replied.

"Just like Coyote," Wolf muttered.

Ben's head snapped up and he looked at Coyote, "What do you mean 'just like Coyote?" He asked.

"Before yesterday, Coyote and Cub were talking to each other. But whatever was said was between them two only," Snake replied.

Ben gave Coyote a suspicious look and the man shrugged nonchalantly. Why would Alex talk to Coyote? They barely knew each other. Or did they? They could've known each other before.

No, that didn't seem likely. But why did Alex talk to Coyote? And what did he tell him? Ben made a note to himself to check it out later.

Once everyone finished their breakfast, they ran through the torrents of rain toward the shooting range. Ben decided not to speak to Alex too much that day, but to observe him instead. If he was to help Alex, he needed to know just how Alex acted around K-unit.

When they walked in the shooting range, Alex was already there but none of the soldiers spoke to him. The only person who acknowledged him was Coyote, who smiled and waved at Alex. The boy nodded his head in return and picked up a gun. Soon, each soldier was lost in their own world.

The soldiers all compared scores. Eagle took a look at Ben's results and smiled.

"That's pretty good, Foxy boy! Not as good as me though." He ended with a smirk.

Ben rolled his eyes and Coyote nudged him, muttering under his breath, "Foxy boy?"

Ben smacked him playfully and looked at Alex's scores. The young spy was standing a few feet away with blank expression pasted on his face.

Ben's jaw dropped when he saw one perfect hole in the center of every target. Ben came over his shock and said to Alex, impressed, "That's amazing Cub! Where'd you learn to shoot like that?"

Alex shifted a little and shrugged. Ben frowned at him. MI6 training included being good with a gun but this wasn't like anything they taught. He wondered where Alex learned to shoot so well.

Wolf looked between Ben and Alex. He thought they knew each other well, but it looked like there were some things that Cub wasn't going to tell anyone. But Wolf was determined to find out, no matter what it took. Alex was suicidal and that was enough to make Wolf feel extremely protective. Cub was a part of his unit, whether he liked it or not, and Wolf was going to do his best to help him. He would try to talk to Alex later. He just didn't know when.

Hopefully, a chance would come up soon.

Alex stepped out of his lectures class, stretched, and took a deep breath. For once, it wasn't raining. There wasn't a cloud in the beautiful blue sky. And the light breeze caressed Alex's skin. Overall, it was a beautiful day. They had a 30 minute break before they had to attend their last class. For K-unit, that meant they had to attend their language class. For Alex, it meant he was to attend his first class with Ben. And Alex was really looking forward to it.

Now, where should he spend his 30 minutes? Alex decided to just sit in the woods. It was always nice and quiet there.

Alex was soon far away from the cabin and there were only a few soldiers walking around him. Alex suddenly tensed up. A strange feeling began creeping up the back of his neck. He was being watched. He knew it.

Alex discreetly took out a small hand mirror out of his pocket and took a look behind him. There! Someone was peeking at him from behind a tree. Alex squinted but the person was too far away for Alex to see who it was. The smart thing would've been to go back where there were many soldiers but Alex didn't. He went deeper into the woods. Finally, when he reached the lake, he sat down and brought his knees to his chest.

He heard footsteps behind him but he didn't turn around. The footsteps got clot closer and closer until the person was standing directly behind him. Alex tensed up but still, he didn't turn around.

A hand clamped down on Alex's shoulder and he turned around.

 **And… done! Well, at least I am with this chapter. It's not much but I hope you all like it. The only time I can work on it is during technology class and I can only work on it in the first and last 10 minutes. So yeah, it took a while. And I'm not quite sure where I'm going with this story yet, so the chapters are mainly focusing on K-unit trying to find out more about Alex. But when inspiration hits, I will add much more action. Anyway, please review and I hope you all like this chapter!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey everyone! Thanks to those who reviewed last chapter! Your reviews are really inspiring. Anyway, I've finished the ninth chapter and I really hope you all enjoy it!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Alex Rider or any other characters.**

 _A hand clamped down on Alex's shoulder and he turned around._  
_ _

Alex spun around and immediately kneed the person in the groin. The man stumbled back and raised a hand in surrender.

"Geez Cub! You could've just said that you didn't want to talk," Wolf said.

Alex's face went red with embarrassment. _Oops,_ he thought.

Alex took a step closer to Wolf and said, ashamed, "I'm so sorry. I thought you were someone else."

Wolf narrowed his eyes, "Someone else? Like who?"

Alex shrugged and sat down, gesturing for Wolf to do the same, "Doesn't matter."

Wolf sat down next to him so they were shoulder to shoulder. He opened his mouth to say something but thought better of it and shut his mouth. The two sat in a comfortable silence. Wolf had been thinking about talking to Cub but now that he could talk to him, he didn't know what to say.

"Cub?" Wolf said hesitantly. Alex gave him a sideways glance. "How do you know Fox?"

"Met him on a mission." Alex replied nonchalantly. "Why?"

"Just curious." Alex raised his eyebrow, clearly showing that he didn't believe him. Wolf shrugged and added, "I am curious. Although you two seem like good friends, Ben doesn't seem to know too much about you."

"No one knows really knows me."

Wolf's calculating eye studied his face. "Doesn't it bother you? Don't you want friends? A family? Don't you want to be able to trust someone?"

A lump formed in Alex's throat. Did he want a family and friends? Of course he did! If he could make one wish, it would be to have a family. All he ever wanted was have a place to call home. He wanted to feel happy, safe, and most importantly, loved.

"I don't want to talk about this." Alex managed to say.

Wolf sighed, but dropped it. He looked at the sparkling lake and let the sun bathe him in warmth.

Silence descended over the two and Alex was starting to relax, when Wolf said abruptly. "Snake's worried about you."

Alex looked at him stupidly. "What?"

"Snake. He's worried about you." Wolf repeated calmly.

"Why?" Alex asked, furrowing his brow.

Wolf looked at him like it was obvious. "He's the medic and you're hurt."

"I'm not hurt."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"Then take off your shirt."

Alex made a face. "No. And um... that sounds wrong."

Wolf ignored the last part. He turned so he was fully facing Alex and lightly tugged the bottom of Alex's shirt. "May I?"

Alex recoiled. "No."

"Why not? You said that you're not hurt."

Alex crossed his arms and didn't reply. Wolf sighed in frustration. He wanted to see Alex's bruises, but he was not going to go soft on him.

He reached out again but Alex moved farther away. Wolf growled. "Stop being childish and show me!"

"It's none of your business, okay?!"

Wolf scowled and replied, emphasizing each word, "I. Am. Your. Leader. I'm the one responsible for your safety."

"Well, I'm safe, so don't worry." Alex replied smartly.

Wolf growled and abandoned all thoughts of politeness. Before Alex could register what was happening, Wolf tackled him and held him tight. Alex kicked and fought but Wolf's grip was like steel.

"Don't make this harder for me." Wolf glared at him.

It took about two minutes, but finally, Wolf had Alex's shirt in his hand and was grinning triumphantly. Alex glared at him, his eyes filled with ice, but Wolf didn't really care.

Alex tried to get his shirt back but couldn't. "I cannot believe you!"

"Cooperate Cub and I'll give you your shirt back."

Alex growled in irritation and plopped down right next to Wolf. He put his arms out, giving Wolf a full view of his battered torso.

"Happy now?" Alex asked.

Wolf didn't answer. His brows furrowed in anger and his fists were clenched. He took a deep, calming breath, reached out, and traced one of Alex's wounds. Alex gave a sharp intake of breath. His instincts told him to grab his shirt and run far, far away. But he stayed put, knowing full well that Wolf was expecting him to bolt and he wouldn't be able to take two steps before Wolf caught him.

Wolf remained silent and simply traced Alex's scars. Finally, he reached the bullet wound on Alex's chest. Wolf pressed on it a little and pain erupted in Alex's body like a jolt of electricity. He grimaced.

"It still hurts you," Wolf accused.

"No it doesn't," Alex lied.

Wolf pressed a little harder and pain seared through Alex's chest. He smacked Wolf's hand away. "Please stop."

"What happened?" Wolf asked, handing Alex his shirt back.

"I was shot." Wolf raised his eyebrow. Alex added, "I didn't see the person."

"An assassination attempt?!" Wolf asked, shocked.

"Yes."

Wolf swore. "What did you do Cub?"

Alex's expression became guarded. "Classified." Wolf stayed quiet. When Alex looked like he wasn't paying attention, he asked him a question that had been bugging him for a while.

"How old are you?"

"Fifteen," Alex murmured absently. A second later, Alex's eyes widened as he realized what he just said. He looked up and he just _knew._

Wolf knew who he was. He could see it in his eyes. Alex stood up, but Wolf pulled him back down. Alex struggled but Wolf wrapped his arms around Alex in an iron grip. He bent down until his mouth was right next to Alex's ear.

"Stop," he ordered. Alex didn't know why but he immediately stopped struggling.

Alex's expression morphed into one of fear as he realized that they were alone in the woods, and no one knew where they were.

Wolf whispered again. But his voice was filled with so much kindness and was so gentle that, for a moment, Alex thought it was someone else talking to him and not Wolf.

"I knew it. You are the same person. You're the Cub from a year ago. I _knew_ it."

Alex made a mistake of turning around and looking at him. Wolf's expression softened when he saw the look of immense fear on Alex's face.

Wolf loosened his grip. "Hey. It's all right kid. Don't be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you."

Alex's breath evened out and his mind cleared. He closed his eyes. So what if Wolf knew who he was? Alex faced a lot of scarier things than him.

He opened his eyes and, in a strong and confident voice, looked right at Wolf and said, "Let go of me."

"Hear me out first." Alex didn't say anything and Wolf took that as a hint to continue. "I was pretty mean to you before. I did a lot of things I regret now and..." He took a deep breath. "I apologize."

Alex relaxed slightly. Wolf just apologized? Hm. Maybe he really was sorry.

"I understand why you didn't tell us when you first got here, but I am truly sorry."

Alex looked up, slightly confused. "Why? Why would you be sorry? You hate me."

"I don't hate you Cub! I didn't before and certainly not now. It's just that I worked hard all my life for this and I thought you were going to get me binned during training. You just waltzed in like it was nothing. I took that as an insult."

Alex nodded slowly. He understood. If he had been in Wolf's spot and had to go through harsh training with a child, he wouldn't have liked it either.

"But we thought you were at least sixteen the last time you were here. I cannot _believe_ you were fifteen."

"Fourteen." Alex corrected.

"What?" Wolf asked.

"The last time I was here. I was fourteen." He clarified.

"Oh," was all Wolf could say. He let go of Alex and said, "Anyway, after you, um, kicked me out of the plane, I accepted you. But it was when you snowboarded down a mountain on an _ironing board_ that I really came to respect you. You're a nice guy."

"Thanks," Alex replied. "But...could you not mention this to anyone?"

Wolf studied him and Alex squirmed in discomfort. "Sure. On one condition."

Alex looked at him warily. "What is it?"

"You have to show Snake your scars."

Alex began to protest but Wolf shushed him, "Don't argue with me Cub! Snake's been trying his best to help you but you won't even talk to him. He's the medic and he needs to know if there's anything that can be hazardous to your health."

Alex sighed in defeat. "Fine, I'll show Snake but you can't tell anyone else."

"Deal."

Alex grinned and stood up, and Wolf did the same. Alex extended his hand and said, _"So._ No hard feelings."

Wolf smiled and shook his hand, "No hard feelings," he agreed.

"We should get back to camp," Alex said.

"All right, but since there _are_ no hard feelings, can you tell me why a fifteen year old is a spy? I find that very disturbing."

Alex chuckled and walked away, calling out over his shoulder, "Nice try, Wolf. Just because I accepted your apology doesn't mean I trust you."

Wolf's face was set in grim determination. He would find out all that child's secrets if it was the last thing he did. He clenched his fists and marched after his unorthodox fifth member.

Ben turned out to be an amazing teacher and Alex was surprised at how much fun he made the most boring subjects. They turned numbers and equations in math into silly songs, they did many experiments, and put on Shakespearean plays.

"Remember. Tomorrow, Juliet is going to pour her heart out to me," Ben said when they finished the lesson. He blew a kiss to Alex and laughed when the boy made a face.

"Sorry, Ben. But I just don't feel that way about you," Alex replied.

Ben pretended to be offended. "What?! Get back here!" He shouted. Alex laughed and ran out the door, Ben close on his heels.

Alex stopped when they reached the cabin, still laughing. Ben put his hand on his knees and caught his breath.

"You are _so -_ What is that _screeching?"_ Alex asked.

Ben stopped and listened closely. A shrill noise was coming from inside their cabin. After a moment, Ben laughed. And laughed. And laughed. He fell on the ground with laughter. Alex raised his eyebrow and tapped his foot impatiently. Finally, Ben stood up and wiped away a tear.

"You feeling okay, Ben?"

Ben smiled, "Yes. By the way, that _screeching_ is Eagle singing."

"Seriously? I thought it was a cat in a blender," Alex retorted.

Ben laughed. "Don't mind Eagle. He thinks he's the best singer in the world." Ben suddenly grinned and asked Alex, "Do you have a good voice?"

"I think it's better than his voice."

"Oh really?" Ben challenged. "Come on then. Sing something."

If Alex had been in front of any of the soldiers, he would've given them a dirty look if they had told him to sing. He would've thought that they were trying to embarrass him or hurt him in some way. But Ben was a good friend of his and in a lot of ways, Ben reminded him of Tom. They were both crazy and Alex felt very comfortable around both guys.

That was why Alex grinned and said, "What would you like me to sing?"

Ben smiled and said, "Sing any song you want."

Alex took a deep breath and began to sing. Although his voice was soft, it was warm, comforting, and filled with emotion.

 _"What would I do without your smart mouth_

 _Drawing me in and you kicking me out_

 _You've got my head spinning, no kidding, I can't pin you down_

 _What's going on in that beautiful mind_

 _I'm on your magical mystery ride_

 _And I'm so dizzy, don't know what hit me, but I'll be alright_

 _My head's underwater but I'm breathing fine_

 _You're crazy but I'm out of my mind..."_

Alex suddenly stopped when he saw the look on Ben's face. His eyes looked like they were about to pop off his face and his mouth was hanging open.

Alex chuckled and tapped the bottom of Ben's chin. "Unless you're planning on catching flies, I suggest you close your mouth sweetheart."

Ben immediately snapped his mouth shut. "Oh my... how...you... That was _amazing!_ Your voice is so _rich_ and _deep_ and _powerful!_ Have you ever considered becoming a singer?"

Alex chuckled. "I don't want to be a singer, but thank you Ben!"

"Amazing! Simply amazing! We're definitely going to sing a lot more." Ben told him. "If I were you, I would totally show off in front of K-unit!"

"I'm not going to sing for them," Alex said, opening the cabin door.

"Why not?" Ben complained, following him inside. "I want to see their reactions.'

Alex plopped down on his own bed.

"Whose reactions do you want to see Foxy?" Eagle grinned.

The others rolled their eyes. Ben sat on his bed and crossed his ankles. "Cub wanted to tell you something but was shy."

Alex gave Ben a suspicious look. Eagle bounded over to Alex and hugged him, nearly crushing his bones. "Oh Cubby! Don't be shy!"

Alex untangled himself and said, "I'm not shy and I have nothing to say to you. Fox is lying."

"But... Cub. Didn't you just tell me what you thought of Eagle's singing?" Ben pretended to be confused.

Alex widened his eyes innocently, "No." Wolf, Coyote, and Snake smirked.

"You said that Eagle's voice sounds like a cat in a..."

"Oh yes!" Alex interrupted. "I remember now. I said that Eagle has a very, um, different and unique voice."

Eagle hugged him again. "Aww... Finally! _Someone_ appreciates my singing! I'll sing some more Cub. Just for you!"

Ben laughed, "Lucky boy! You must be so happy!"

"Yes. Very happy," Alex said weakly. Wolf smirked at him and Alex gave him the middle finger, which caused Wolf to grin.

Eagle began yelling, err, _singing._ Alex laid down and shouted Eagle's name. When he finally had the soldier's attention, he very politely said. "I'm trying to sleep now so a soft lullaby would be nice."

Eagle grinned and shouted happily "Okay!" and started singing loudly.

 _"Cubby! Oh Cubby! Go to sleep now my Cubby!"_

Alex groaned and smacked his pillow over his face to drown out the noise. The others laughed.

After about 10 minutes of Eagle's horrible singing, Alex had had enough.

"Eagle!" He shouted loudly. "That's it! Your voice is _horrible_ so shut up and _let me_ SLEEP!"

Eagle opened and closed his mouth, resembling a fish, and stared at Alex in shock. Ben fell on the floor with laughter and the others joined in.

When everyone quieted down, Ben grinned at Alex and said, "Finally! I was wondering when you'd crack."

Alex groaned, reached under his bed and took an aspirin. He had a major headache. Snake narrowed his eyes at him.

Alex turned to the others. "How can you guys stand it?"

Coyote chuckled. "We're used to it. And we kind of gave up on getting him to shut up."

"I thought you liked my voice Cub," Eagle complained.

"Not anymore," he replied.

Ben threw his arm around Eagle. "He might not like your voice, but you'd definitely love his. Cub has an _amazing_ voice."

Eagle's eyes sparkled. "Really!" He exclaimed. "Oh sing for us Cub!"

Alex glared at Ben, who blinked innocently. "No," Alex replied.

"But what if I say please? Please, please, please. Pretty please! Please Cub! _Please_.

Alex groaned, "No. Shut up." Eagle sat on Alex's bed and started shaking him. "Please Cub. _Please, please, please."_

"He's not going to stop Cub," Wolf told him.

"Can't you stop him? Maybe smack him in the face or break his teeth?" Alex pleaded.

Wolf grinned. "I probably could. But that's no fun."

Alex pleaded with the others but they ignored him. Finally he quit and tried to ignore Eagle, who still wouldn't stop.

Seconds and minutes ticked by, but Eagle made no show of stopping. Finally, Alex sat up. He had a headache and he knew that if Eagle didn't stop soon, he would explode.

"Okay Eagle! I'll sing," he said. Eagle finally shut up. "But on one condition," Alex added.

"What is it? Eagle asked.

"You have to promise to stop bothering me and let me go to sleep. Okay?"

Eagle stopped and considered. "Okay, Cub. I promise.

Alex closed his eyes and tried to make the headache go away. He opened his eyes and said feebly, "I need water."

Eagle pouted and crossed his arms. "That's not a song."

Ben looked at him worriedly. "Are you okay?" Alex nodded.

Snake quickly got up and poured him a cup of water. He sat next to Alex and gave him the cup. After Alex finished, he took the cup and whispered," Cub, what's wrong?"

"Small headache," Alex murmured. "It's fine."

Snake pursed his lips and said to Eagle. "Eagle, I think you should leave him alone."

"What?! No way! At least sing a little." Eagle argued.

"What do you want me to sing?" Alex asked.

"Sing the song that you sang to Fox."

Alex cast a glance in Ben's direction. Ben mouthed an apology.

Snake squeezed his hand. Alex took a deep breath and sang again.

 _What would I do without smart mouth_

 _Drawing me in and you kicking me out_

 _You've got my head spinning, no kidding, I can't pin you down_

 _What's going on in that beautiful mind_

 _I'm on your magical mystery ride_

 _And I'm so dizzy, don't know what hit me, but I'll be alright_

 _My head's underwater but I'm breathing fine_

 _You're crazy but I'm out..._

Alex's headache got worse. He head was pounding. Snake immediately began feeling his forehead. He gave Alex an aspirin and the boy took it gratefully. All of K-unit crowded around Alex's bed.

"That's enough," Snake said firmly. "You need to rest."

"I'm fine," Alex protested but the words sounded false to his own ears.

Ben held Alex's hand and said, "Maybe you should go to the infirmary."

Alex protested. "I don't need to go to the infirmary. I'm _fine_."

Suddenly, pained erupted in Alex's chest, specifically where his bullet wound is. Alex gasped in pain and put a hand over his heart. Wolf immediately straightened up.

"Cub..." He began. He was interrupted by Alex, who yelled.

Snake picked Alex up, bridal style. Alex gasped and went slack in Snake's arms. Snake looked down at him and cursed.

Alex's eyes rolled back in his head as he fell unconscious.

 _ **Hey!**_ **Sorry that this chapter is so short. I was going to make it longer but this seemed like a good end to the ninth chapter. Sorry to keep you guys waiting. I've already started on the next chapter so hopefully you'll find out what happened to Alex quickly. And again I say it,** _ **review!**_ **Please. There's nothing better than hearing my reader's opinions.**


	10. Chapter 10

_**Hey everybody!**_ **Thanks to those who reviewed last chapter. You all really inspired me to keep on writing and I thank you for that. I'm sorry it took so long to finish this chapter but life got in the way. As usual. But I hope that this chapter makes up for it.** _ **Enjoy!**_

 **Disclaimer: All rights go to Anthony Horowitz.**

 _Alex's eyes rolled back in his head as he fell unconscious._

Alex woke up to an irritating beeping sound. As soon as he opened his eyes, he was blinded by a bright light. He opened his eyes more slowly and waited until his eyes were adjusted to the light. And with the grace of a princess, he sat up and looked around. For a moment, he panicked when he didn't know where he was. But then he remembered that he was in Brecon Beacons and this was the infirmary.

 _What happened?_ He thought. His head started pounding and he felt a headache forming. Suddenly, he remembered. He had had a headache and collapsed. _Embarrassing,_ he thought with a groan.

But... why? Why did he collapse like that? Sure, he had a headache. But would a headache make him fall unconscious. He racked his brain for things that could've caused it and could only come to one conclusion. He hadn't eaten a lot of the food that was served in the cafeteria. Actually, he had only eaten a fourth of his food. He was always busy trying to avoid his unit. And the water they served wasn't very clean so he hadn't drunk a lot of water. Was it possible that he had collapsed from hunger and thirst? He had to wait until a nurse or doctor told him.

He remembered when he had asked for water a few minutes before he collapsed. The water was the same dirty water that was given throughout the military camp. Alex groaned from embarrassment and laid back down. Seconds later, a tall doctor with kind brown eyes and black hair walked in.

"Ah," he smiled. "I see you're finally awake. Good."

"What happened?" Alex tried to say. He was surprised when the words came out croaky. The doctor handed him a cup of clean water. Alex nodded gratefully and drank the water. When he finished, the doctor took the cup and said, "I'm Dr. Phil."

"I'm Alex Rider. What happened?" Alex tried again, his voice coming out loud and clear.

The doctor made a mark in his papers. "Do you remember what happened?" He asked.

Alex nodded, "I know I fell unconscious. But why?"

"Have you been eating properly?" Dr. Phil asked him. Alex shook his head while thinking, _yes, I was right!_

The doctor continued. "You fell unconscious from hunger and thirst. You've been working hard and not eating properly. You pushed your body to the limit and when you became too weak, you collapsed. Get some rest, good food, and plenty of water and you'll be ready to go back in no time."

"There's also something else," Alex added reluctantly. "Before falling unconscious, my bullet wound started throbbing painfully."

"Can I see?" The doctor asked. When Alex hesitated, he added gently, "It's okay. I've read your medical file."

Alex relaxed slightly and lifted his shirt. The doctor examined it and felt it. After a while, he pulled Alex's shirt down and told him, "In your medical file, it says that you hadn't completely recovered from the wound. Is this correct?"

Alex remembered when he was kidnapped by Force Three when he was supposed to be recovering. "Yes," he replied.

The doctor made another mark in his clipboard and continued. "You hadn't recovered fully so when your body became weaker, the bullet wound began hurting again. I recommend some physical therapy. You can stay here and I can bring someone in to help you exercise."

Alex considered this. He didn't really want to stay. It would make him look weak. Besides, the hellish obstacle course was exercise enough. Alex shook his head and said firmly, "No. I don't need physical therapy. I'll be fine."

Dr. Phil smiled, "I thought you might say that. I've heard that you're quite stubborn."

Alex couldn't help it. He laughed. The doctor leaned over and ruffled his hair in a rare gesture of fatherly affection. He knew how old this child was and although he wasn't supposed to ask questions, he was worried for the boy's safety.

"Are you hungry?" He asked. As if on cue, Alex's stomach rumbled. "I'll take that as a yes." The doctor chuckled. "I'll be right back."

As soon as the doctor left, Alex leaned back comfortably and closed his eyes. He wondered where his unit was right now. He briefly recalled the last couple of minutes before he collapsed. Not only did he sing, but Snake also carried him to the infirmary. Talk about _embarrassing._ He wondered if they were going to come here and talk to him. Probably not, but if they did, he was _not_ going to tell them why he fainted.

The doctor soon returned with a tray of a delicious and steaming bowl of soup and a cup of milk. Only when the tray was placed in front of him did he actually realize how hungry he was. He picked up his spoon and dug in. Dr. Phil smiled and was about to leave when Alex called him.

"Um... Doctor?" He swallowed. "If my unit asks you why I fainted, please don't tell them. Don't tell _anyone."_

Ashadow of guilt crossed over the doctor's face. "I'm so sorry. I already told one of them. The soldier had been waiting since you got here."

Alex's face fell. It was probably Ben or Coyote. They're the only one who would come. "Oh... Did you only tell one person?" Alex asked.

The doctor nodded and Alex continued, "That's okay then. What does the soldier look like?"

The doctor thought a little. "He has a Scottish accent, fair hair, green eyes, and a lithe body."

Alex frowned. That doesn't sound like Ben or Coyote. That description matched...

"Snake?" Alex asked, surprised.

The doctor shrugged, "I think. He's still here. Would you like to talk to him?"

Alex nodded and the doctor left. _Of course,_ Alex thought. _Snake's the medic._

A few seconds later, Snake knocked twice before opening the door and walking in.

"Hey Cub," Snake greeted. He sat down on the chair opposite Alex.

Alex smiled, "Hey, Snake. How long have you been here?"

"I brought you here an hour ago. That's how long I've been here."

Alex knitted his eyebrows. "Shouldn't you be on the assault course right now? If the Sergeant finds out, you'll be in big trouble."

Snake waved it off. "I already told him you're here and I have permission to stay with you. I am the medic after all."

After a couple of seconds, Alex smiled. "Thanks."

Snake raised his eyebrow. "For what?"

"For staying with me."

Snake looked at him strangely. "People usually leave me," Alex muttered.

Snake's expression softened and he reached over and hugged Alex. Alex froze and then slowly wrapped his arms around Snake's waist. The man let go of him with a smile. He put his hands on Alex's shoulders and suddenly became serious.

"This is why I've tried to help you, Cub. If you had let me take care of you, you wouldn't be in the infirmary right now."

"It's not that bad. I'll be fine." Alex shrugged.

Snake sighed. "I know you'll be okay but it's my job to help my unit if they're hurt. From now and on, you cannot hide from me or refuse to show me your scars."

Alex scowled. "No! The doctor checked everything already. Besides I didn't faint because of my scars."

"I should've examined your bullet wound and made sure you recovered properly. And I will make sure you go to sleep early and you eat and drink enough."

"I'm _fine_." Alex insisted. "Ben was right. You are a mother hen." He muttered.

Snake crossed his arms, "It's my job and no, you're not fine. You will sit with us when we're in the mess hall and you will finish _all_ your food. I don't care if I have to force feed you myself. Is that understood?"

Alex huffed. "I understand _Mum!"_ It could've been worse, he thought.

Snake grinned triumphantly. Alex's soup had gone cold but Snake still pushed it in front of Alex.

"Great! You can start eating now." Snake told him.

"I already ate half of it. I'm not hungry anymore." Alex laid back down on the bed. Snake crossed his arms and tapped his foot with an exasperated sigh.

"Why do you like being so difficult?"

"I'm not the one being difficult," Alex retorted.

Snake plopped down next to him and lifted a spoonful of soup. "Open your mouth Cub."

Alex shuffled away from him. "Stop treating me like a child! I already drank half the bowl."

Snake dropped the spoon. "You _are_ a child!" He pinned Alex down and forced his mouth open. Before Alex can do anything, he shoved the spoon in his mouth and Alex swallowed.

Alex gaped at the soldier, who was grinning at him. "I cannot believe you just did that."

Snake shrugged and lifted the spoon to Alex's mouth again. Alex scowled and crossed his arms but he still opened his mouth reluctantly and allowed Snake to feed him.

As K-unit, minus Snake, finished their exercises for the day, they ran into the Sergeant and immediately saluted.

"At ease, soldiers," he shouted.

The men relaxed. "Have you seen Cub yet?"

"No sir. But Snake is still with him." Wolf replied.

The Sergeant nodded, "Do you know why he fainted?"

Everyone shook their heads. "Let's go see him." The Sergeant walked towards the infirmary and K-unit exchanged looks and followed him.

They stepped in the infirmary and the Sergeant and doctor nodded respectfully to each other. The door to Alex's room was right across the main door and it was wide open. They walked toward it quickly and saw Snake laugh as he fed a spoon of soup to a scowling Alex.

Eagle jumped forward quickly and went right to Alex. "Hey Cub! I missed you!" He gave Alex a bone crushing hug but for once, Alex didn't mind. He actually looked relieved.

"Hey Eagle! Please save me. Snake's going to kill me." He pleaded dramatically.

Snake rolled his eyes.

"I'll save you Cubby! Eagle shouted. He put his hands on Alex's waist and the boy yelped as Eagle lifted him off the ground and twirled him in the air like one would do to a ballerina. Alex laughed and the others couldn't help but join in. Eagle turned around and sat on the bed gracefully, gently setting Alex on his lap. The boy leaned against his chest with a smile as the others came over to greet him and Snake.

Ben hugged Alex and whispered in his ear, "Looks like you've really warmed up to Snake."

Alex smiled as Ben winked at him and walked away.

Coyote came over and gave him a hug. Up until that moment, Alex hadn't realized how long it had been since he had a good, long conversation with the soldier. He missed talking to him. He hugged him back tightly.

"I missed you," Alex whispered softly. Coyote smiled and ruffled his hair. "I missed you too Alex." His voice was so low and if Alex wasn't in his arms, he would've never heard him. Coyote let go of him.

Alex leaned his head back on Eagle's broad chest and the hyper soldier wrapped his arms around Alex and squeezed.

Wolf and the Sergeant just nodded at Alex and the boy nodded back in greeting. Once everyone had settled themselves around the room, the Sergeant began to speak.

"Are you feeling better Cub?" Alex nodded and the Sarge continued. "So what happened?"

Alex was just about to reply with an annoying "classified" but before he could, Snake spoke, "He was hungry. The hunger and thirst made him weak and he fell unconscious. He also wasn't having enough sleep. He goes to sleep late and wakes up early."

Alex's intense glare made Snake wince. "I never said you can tell anyone."

"But you never said I _couldn't_ tell anyone either." Snake replied.

"You're a medic. Aren't medics supposed to gain their patient's trust?!" Snake's shoulders slumped in embarrassment. Alex was right. He _should_ have kept it a secret.

"I'm sorry Cub." Snake said sincerely. "But you can't keep hiding things from us. We're going to find out eventually. Besides, we _want_ to help you. Let us help."

Alex didn't reply to that. Instead, he slid off Eagle's lap and started walking toward the door. Snake put a hand on his shoulder to stop him, "Cub, I'm _sorry._ You're right. I should never have told anyone."

Alex wanted to yell at him but that there was no point in it. Instead, he muttered a "whatever" and walked out the door. Snake's shoulders slumped and his expression was one of guilt.

"Why doesn't he want anyone to know? Why does he want to hide everything?" Snake frowned.

Ben walked over and sat next to him. "That's just the way he is." Ben didn't just speak to Snake. He was talking to everyone in general. "He's afraid you might get hurt because of him. He doesn't want to be close to anyone."

"He's close to you," Eagle pointed out. Ben had been nice to him in Dragon Nine. He made up for the way he treated him when he was training with K-unit a year ago. But he couldn't tell them that he was the original Cub. How could he explain it?

"That's different. It's just that... he doesn't trust people, but that's normal for a spy. But he's not just a normal spy, he's..." Ben took a deep breath. "He doesn't trust you. He doesn't trust any of you. Okay, that's not true. He trusts Coyote a little. But, what I'm saying is that I've already _proved_ that he could trust me. And even so, I still don't know a lot about him. I don't know what he's been through but I once ran into him on a mission. And if all his missions are like that, then he's been through some really horrible things." He turned and put his hand on Snake's shoulder. "When you told us why he collapsed, he felt like he couldn't trust you. But I'll talk to him, okay? I'll try to get him to see sense. Just be gentle with him. He has major trust issues."

Ben got up and was about to leave when Wolf spoke, "Wait Fox. I'm coming with you."

"I don't think he'll..." Ben hesitated.

"I'm coming," Wolf insisted. "I want to talk to him too."

"Okay," Ben said, although he still looked uncertain.

Ben and Wolf walked away just as the Sergeant told the others to go to their cabin and get some rest.

"Where do you think he went?" Ben asked.

"Follow me," Wolf said simply. He wasn't completely sure that Alex was where Wolf thought he was but he might as well check. The two soldiers walked in a comfortable silence into the woods. And just like Wolf thought, Alex was near a lake. In the same spot that him and Alex were talking before. Ben and Wolf walked behind him silently but were startled when Alex suddenly punched the tree next to him with a frustrated yell. The force of the punch was really strong and the bark on the tree came off. Alex's hand was bloody but he didn't seem to notice. He plopped down on the ground.

Wolf and Ben exchanged horrified looks and they walked towards him, making some noise so he doesn't get startled.

"What did the tree ever do to you?" Ben asked.

Alex sighed and looked down. Wolf sat on his right and Ben on his left. Alex put his head on Ben's shoulder and closed his eyes. Wolf cleaned Alex's hand and bandaged it.

"Are you okay?" Ben ruffled Alex's hair and spoke gently.

For a long time, Alex didn't speak. The truth was, he hated it here. But he didn't want to be back at Ian's house either. He didn't want to be anywhere. Everywhere he went, misery and pain hung over him like a dark rain cloud. He was tired of being alone. He was tired of _living._

"I hate it here," he finally said, his voice filled with so much emotion. Both soldiers turned to look at him. Wolf opened his mouth to say something but Alex wasn't done. "But I don't want to work for Blunt either. And I don't want to be back in my uncle's house."

"Then where do you want to go? Where do you want to be?" Wolf asked.

Alex thought. "I want to be with my family."

Both soldier's eyes opened wide as they realized what he meant. Wolf put his arm around Alex's shoulder and pulled him in. Alex snuggled into Wolf's side.

"Oh Alex..." Wolf whispered.

It took Ben a couple of seconds to understand what Wolf said. He didn't say 'cub,' he said 'Alex.' So he must know that Alex was the same guy that came here a year ago. When did Wolf figure that out? Thinking back to the way Wolf had treated Alex, Ben found it hard to believe that those two would ever hug each other, even though they were both sitting in front of him and doing just that.

Ben moved closer and wrapped his arms around Alex and Wolf.

"I love you Alex." Ben whispered, his voice filled with such warmth that Alex wanted to stay in that comfortable position forever. Although he couldn't stay like that forever, they did stay together for nearly ten minutes. And Alex enjoyed the rare moment of love and affection.

"I wish I was normal." Alex said. "I'm tired of playing Blunt's stupid games."

"I don't get it Alex. If you don't want to be a spy, then why do you work for him? Please tell us."

Alex's shoulders slumped, "I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because I can't. Even if I wanted to tell you, I can't. Everything about me is classified. I can get in serious trouble for breaking the OSA."

"But we already signed the OSA," Wolf pointed out.

"I don't want to tell you."

Silence descended over them. Ben laid his head down on Alex's back.

Suddenly, his head shot up. "We can be your family!" Ben said abruptly.

Wolf and Alex both looked at him in confusion so he clarified.

"Alex, you said you wanted to have a family. I know your family is... gone. So we can be your family."

Wolf's mouth formed an 'o.'

"He's right. It's just like our unit. We're not related but we are family. We all care for each other."

Alex let go of Wolf and covered his face with his hands and gave a sigh of frustration. "We can't. You're all going to get hurt because of me. I can't let that happen."

"How?" Ben asked. "How are we going to get hurt?"

"I can't tell you."

Wolf growled. "Alex, if you don't tell us anything, how are we supposed to help you?!"

Alex glared at him. "Don't help me! That's all I want you guys to do. Leave me _alone!"_

"We're not going to! You are part of our unit, whether you like it or not! So get it through your head. We are _not_ leaving you alone!" Wolf shouted back. Alex was about to reply with a no doubt cutting reply, but Ben interrupted him.

He threw his arm around Alex's shoulders. "Okay, okay. Calm down, both of you. Alex, I _know_ you want us to leave you alone but I agree with Wolf. We all want to help you. And we won't stop until we have. We love you. Why is it so hard for you to accept that?"

"Because _nobody_ loves me." Alex replied. "Why can't _you_ accept...? _Whoah!"_

Alex was cut off by Ben, who hugged him very tightly. "I love you Alex. I _love_ you!" He kissed the top of his head and buried his face in Alex's hair.

"I love you Alex. Snake loves you. Eagle loves you. Coyote loves you. Wolf..."

"Loves me," Alex finished. "Right."

"Wolf loves you in his own... twisted and delusional way." Wolf rolled his eyes at that.

"You said you didn't want to hurt us." Ben continued. "But you're hurting me. I love you. How do you think I feel when you say you want to be with your family? When you have suicidal thoughts?"

Ben separated himself from Alex but put his hands on his shoulders and looked him straight in the eye.

"I don't want you dead," he said firmly. "I don't want you hurt. I want you to be safe and happy. And when you say you wish you were dead or that nobody loves you, that hurts me. That honestly breaks my heart. I don't know how we can be hurt if we're close friends but I _do_ know that emotional pain hurts more than physical pain. You should know that better than anyone else. Please, please, please don't hurt me Alex. And don't hurt yourself."

A lump formed in Alex's throat and his voice cracked when he spoke. "I... I'm sorry Ben." He spoke in a whisper.

A single tear raced down Alex's cheek and he bit his lip and tried to stop the tears.

Ben gently pulled him in a hug and whispered, "It's okay to cry Alex. It's okay."

And Alex just couldn't hold it in anymore. He let out all the emotion that was bottled in him. Every feeling that and memory that had haunted him. Anger, sadness, guilt. Alex let out every tear he had been afraid to let out before. And Ben just held him tighter.

Several minutes later, Alex's sobs reduced to sniffles. He let go of Ben and wiped away his tears.

"I'm sorry Ben," he whispered. "I love you."

Through all of that, Alex had forgotten about Wolf but now he turned to him and said, "I love you too Wolf."

Wolf ruffled his hair and gave him one of his rare smiles. "Does this mean that you're not going to hide things from us anymore?"

"I won't tell you guys _everything_. But I won't hide everything either." Alex said.

"Good," Ben said, standing up. "And no more talk to suicide. Please."

"No more. But I'm still afraid that you guys might get hurt because of me." Alex admitted.

Ben extended his hand to Alex, who took it and stood up as well. "Alex, I would die for you. Literally. That's how much I love you. Don't be afraid."

Wolf stood up and stretched. "You should also apologize to Snake. He cares about you. Don't be mean to him."

Alex crossed his arms. "He shouldn't have told anyone."

"That's true." Ben said. "But he is genuinely sorry and he really wants you to forgive him."

Alex sighed. Wolf and Ben were right. He was being a little harsh to Snake. "I will apologize. But he's too motherly."

Wolf smirked and Ben laughed. "True, but that's his job. Come on."

The three left the woods and went into their cabin. Snake, Eagle, and Coyote were playing cards on the ground. Coyote was distracting Eagle while Snake cheated. Then Snake distracted Eagle while Coyote cheated. But when the door opened, they all froze and turned their heads to the door.

Everyone stayed in an awkward silence until Eagle jumped up happily and shouted, "You're back!"

Coyote face palmed and the others rolled their eyes. Alex walked toward Snake but the man didn't look at him. He was looking at Alex's bandaged hand.

Alex sat down in front of him and Snake gestured at his hand and asked softly, "What happened?"

"It's nothing," Alex replied but then he heard someone clear their throat loudly from behind him and added, "I punched a tree."

"You punched a tree?" Coyote grinned. "What did the tree ever do to you?"

"That's just why I said!" Ben exclaimed.

Alex ignored them and looked at Snake. "I'm sorry I was being mean to you in the infirmary."

Snake's expression softened. "That's okay. And I'm sorry I told everyone why you fainted. I was wrong to do that. Forgive me?"

"I forgive you," Alex said with a smile.

"Aww..." Eagle exclaimed happily. "That's so sweet. Give him a hug Cub! He was feeling really bad."

Alex hugged Snake and the soldier laughed. "Now that we've forgiven each other, you need to go to sleep."

Alex frowned. "What?"

"You need to get some rest." Snake reminded him.

"What? No! It's only 11 o'clock. I'm not tired." Alex complained.

Everyone laughed and Snake picked Alex up, bridal style, and put him on his bed.

"Sorry Cub. But it's bedtime." Snake told him, grinning.

Alex humphed and turned his back on everyone. Snake tucked him in tightly and ruffled his hair. "Goodnight Cub. Sleep well."

Although Alex said that he wasn't tired, he fell asleep very quickly. And almost two hours later, the rest of the unit went to bed.

A couple of hours later, Alex woke up suddenly. He looked up at the ceiling and wondered what it was that had woken him up. He didn't have nightmares or anything. But he still had a bad feeling about something. His body was tingling. He turned to his side and noticed something. The rest of the beds were all empty. His unit was gone. The strangest thing was that their blankets and pillows were on the floor. It was like there was a fight or something. For a moment, Alex panicked. Then his mind cleared and he realized that this was probably RTI. Well, he wasn't going to let anyone catch _him_ by surprise.

Alex heard a footstep behind him, rolled off his bed, and immediately swung into action. He brought his leg up and lashed out, his foot powering into the man's abdomen with so much force that the man crumpled to the ground instantly.

Alex bent down and looked at the man's face. The man was wearing all black and most of his face was covered. The man looked young, probably in his mid-twenties, and had olive skin and dark hair. Alex was just about to stand up when something smacked him to the ground and the air was knocked out of him. While Alex was examining the man he had knocked out, another man had crept up behind him silently. Alex struggled but this man was much too strong. A man with brown hair and ice blue eyes loomed over him but that was all Alex was able to see before a cloth was pressed against his face and his whole world turned black.

 _ **Phew...**_ **that took much longer than I thought. I'm really sorry. Our internet has been down for a month and we just got it fixed. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I promise that there** _ **will**_ **be a lot of action in the next chapter. We've got two weeks off school and I'm going to make the most of that time. I'm going to try to finish as much chapters as I can before I have to go back to school.**

 **Night Riders**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello my wonderful! I've added quite a bit of action in this chapter and I really hope you all enjoy it. And thanks to those who reviewed last chapter. You guys are amazing. And Riderkitty, I like writing cliff hangers... But I absolutely hate it when other people do. I can't stand waiting until a next chapter is updated.**

Disclaimer: Do I really have to say it again?

 _ ***Line Break***_

 _A man with brown hair and ice blue eyes loomed over him but that was all Alex was able to see before a cloth was pressed against his face and his whole world turned black._

 _*Line Break*_

Alex groggily opened his eyes. There was a dull throbbing in the back of his head. He slowly sat up and groaned. He rubbed the back of his head as he took in his surroundings. He was in a dirty cell.

On the wall right across from the door sat k-unit in the shadows. They were looking at him with grim expressions on their faces.

Eagle smiled weakly. "Hey Cub."

"RTI?" Alex asked.

"I'm afraid not," Coyote answered sullenly. "We've been kidnapped."

A look of horror passed over Alex's face and everyone saw it.

"It's not your fault Alex." Ben told him gently.

"Yes it is," Alex replied. Although he whispered, his voice echoed around the room and was heard by everyone... including the guards hiding near the cell.

"I told you," he continued. "I _told_ you you'd get hurt. Now look what happened. I told you all to leave me alone."

Ben held out his arms. "Come here, Alex." Ben said.

"No." Alex replied, standing up. He looked around and tried to see if there was any way he could get out. The walls were dark and dirty and there were no windows. There was a door on the wall right across from the one K-unit was leaning against. The lack of a doorknob and keyhole made it look more like a huge steel rectangle. Alex walked over to it and ran his hands over it. Just by touching it, Alex was able to tell that there was no way they would be able to open it. And even if there was, it might make a loud noise when it swung open which would've alerted any guards that could be hiding near.

Alex sighed and turned around. It was his fault K-unit were here, so it was his job to get them out and Alex was determined to get them out of this hell hole. Alex went to the corner and slunk down in the shadows. He brought his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. After a few minutes, he nodded off to sleep. K-unit exchanged looks and followed suit.

 _*Line Break*_

"Yes, sir. That's what he said." A young guard with brown hair and eyes said.

"This is wonderful! Maybe a bit of messing with his mind will get him to crack. Mental torture is just as fun as physical torture. Good job Victor."

This new man had a waxen face and jet black hair and was Chinese of origin. He was physically very small but he should never be underestimated, for this isn't just any man. This man is a world renowned expert on torture and pain. His name is Dr. Three.

"Victor, Michael, guard their door." Dr. Three continued. "We'll have our fun soon."

 _*Line Break*_

Nearly three hours later, Alex was awake and currently staring at the ceiling. He had no idea that being a hostage was this _boring._ He wished someone would come and relieve him of his boredom before it killed him. He almost wished that his kidnappers would take him away or torture him or something. Almost.

Alex began wondering who his kidnappers might be. He had a long list of enemies but most of them were dead. The only people he could think of that would do something like this is Scorpia. But Blunt said that they had worked out a deal. If it was Scorpia, Alex would make sure that he got his revenge on Blunt.

Alex sighed loudly, gathering the attention of K-unit.

"You okay, Cub?" Coyote asked.

"Fine," Alex muttered, turning his back on them. The whole time they had been here, K-unit talked to each other quietly. Alex didn't join in their conversations, nor did he listen. He wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone.

A couple of minutes later, the door opened. It didn't swing open like Alex thought. The door silently slid upwards, disappearing into a rectangular hole above it.

A single person stood in the doorway. Alex immediately straightened up and K-unit stood up and moved protectively closer to Alex, which made Alex smile a little in appreciation.

The man walked into the room, a gun held loosely by his side. The man looked oddly familiar to Alex. He didn't remember ever talking to this person, but he felt like he's seen him somewhere. Like in a picture.

The man laughed, delighted, at the way everyone stiffened when he walked in. Wolf briefly thought about knocking the guy out. The guy didn't look particularly strong and gun or no gun, Wolf could take him down.

Wolf took a threatening step forward but before he could do anything, ten guards suddenly appeared in the room, each carrying a gun and pointing them at K-unit.

Alex stood up, "Who are you and what do you want?" He asked coldly.

The man chuckled. "Alex Rider. So glad to have finally met you. Scorpia have told me a lot about you."

Alex gave a sharp intake of breath when he heard the word Scorpia. The man continued. "But oh! Where are my manners? I didn't introduce myself. I'm Dr. Three. Expert on torture and pain."

Alex reeled back in shock. He remembered now. When he was in Malagasto, there were books by this man.

Wolf growled. "What do you want from us?" Which, in Alex's opinion, wasn't a very smart question, seeing as Dr. Three just said he was an expert on torture and pain.

Dr. Three waved his hand in dismissal. "I want nothing from _you._ Let me explain. You see, Alex has taken down Scorpia many times and they've tried to kill him many times but, unfortunately, failed. So, a few members had a meeting and decided to get their revenge. They planned a kidnapping and you were all brought here. Scorpia has promised me a large sum of money and in return, I shall kill you painfully. My orders were to drag your death for as long as possible. You should've know better than to mess with them little Alex. After all, Scorpia never forgives and Scorpia never forgets."

Alex stood up and slid his spy mask over his face, not showing a hint of emotion there. He broke through the wall of bodies that was trying to protect him.

"You're right. Scorpia doesn't forgive and forget and I'm the one who ruined their plans. I'm the one they're after. You can torture me to death. I don't care. But they," Alex pointed in K-unit's direction. "They have nothing to do with this. Let them go and I'll stay."

K-unit turned around and faced Alex with fierce expressions. They began protesting harshly. "We're NOT leaving!" Wolf growled.

Suddenly, the sound of a bullet pierced the air. Everyone's moth snapped shut immediately. had produced a gun and shot at a wall to silence them.

"That's enough," said, almost lazily. "I agree with your unit, Alex. True, my orders were to kill you but no one said I couldn't kill anyone else. Besides, I intend to torture you and it won't be just physical torture. It'll be mental torture as well and there's no better way to hurt you than by hurting the people you love. I saw your reaction to Jack Starbright's death. You were videotaped by the way. I must say, it was very interesting to watch."

Alex's fists curled in anger and when he spoke, his voice was so cold and icy that K-unit had to remind themselves that Alex was on their side. "You can torture me all you want, but believe me, before I die, I will make you pay a price you'll never forget."

Dr. Three ignored the threat and said, "I'll go get some things ready and then I'll be back. Enjoy this bit of time I'm giving you. Goodbye."

The door slid upwards once more, letting Dr. Three and the guards leave, and shut behind them with a click. Everyone stayed silent for a couple of seconds, just making sure that no one was coming back, then K-unit whirled around furiously.

"What were you thinking?! Ben snarled. Under different circumstances, Alex might've been a little hurt by that, but now, he pushed away all emotions.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Alex replied innocently.

Ben's eyes narrowed. "This is _not_ the time to make jokes, Alex!"

Alex dropped the act and huffed. "What do you mean what was I doing? I was trying to save your ungrateful arses!"

Wolf massaged the bridge of his nose. "Cub, we are not leaving," he said in a strangely calm voice. "We were _all_ kidnapped, so we will _all_ stick together. You are a part of this unit, Cub, whether you like it or not. Even if we could, we are not going to leave you, no matter what you want. So get _over_ it already."

A lump formed in Alex's throat and he suddenly had an urge to run around and hug them all, but he didn't do that. It might have been nice of Wolf to say that he'd stick with him, but Alex didn't doubt that Wolf would beat him to a pulp if he tried to hug him.

Alex sat back down with a sigh of frustration and looked down hopelessly at his hands.

Snake sat down next to him and said gently, "Cub, Wolf's right. You're part of this unit. We can't leave."

Alex closed his eyes. "I'm not part of your unit." He said softly. "I never was. I never will be. I'm not going to permanently stay with you guys. It was only for a little while. If we make it out of here alive, we'll probably never see each other again. I appreciate your concern guys, but you shouldn't get yourselves involved in the mess that is my life. The longer you stay around me, the more danger you're in. I think we've proved that already."

At this, no one was able to say anything. The others sat down in a tight circle around Alex and fell silent.

Eagle, who had remained unnaturally quiet, spoke up quietly. "Cub?" Alex looked up at him.

"Are you... Are you the same Cub that was here a year ago?"

Alex looked him in the eye. He briefly thought of lying but decided that there was no point in it anymore. He nodded.

"How old are you?" Snake asked.

"Fifteen."

Snake and Eagle swore colorfully. Coyote, Fox, and Wolf remained quiet however.

"You knew," Eagle accused them. "You all knew."

"They knew," Alex confirmed. "But I told them to keep a secret. I'm glad they kept it."

"Now that we all know, can you tell us about yourself? About your life?" Coyote asked.

"You all signed the OSA?" Alex asked.

"Yes," they all replied.

"And you promise to never tell anyone?"

There was another round of yes's. Alex sighed.

"My parents, Helen and John Rider, died a few weeks after I was born. I was raised by my uncle..." Alex started.

Alex told them everything. And he didn't skip around some details like he did when he told Tom and Jack. He told them every gruesome detail. Every emotion he felt. He knew he had to do this. He couldn't just bottle things in anymore. He had to let someone know. It was now or never. And he didn't worry about his captors hearing him. He had made a sweep of the cell before and made sure there were no bugs.

The more and more Alex talked, the more disgusted and angered K unit were at MI6. Alex wasn't sure when, but some time during his talk, Coyote put his arms around Alex and pulled him in and Alex leaned against the soldier's chest, his shoulders slumped in resignation.

Alex choked and his eyes teared up a little when he told them what happened to Jack. But the soldiers didn't laugh or make fun of him for crying. They silently listened to him; Ben stroking his arm to comfort him.

Finally, he finished, stopping at the part where he was taken to Brecon Beacons for "protection."

 _So much for that,_ Alex thought bitterly.

For a couple of long minutes, everyone was silent, then Eagle broke it with a breathless laugh.

"Well if you were hoping that we would leave you, there's absolutely no chance of that happening now."

"I don't think we'll be able to escape." Alex said quietly, losing all hope. "Once they torture us, we'll be too weak to get up, let alone escape. I don't think MI6 cares. I don't think they're going to come. But maybe... Maybe I can get them to torture me only so you guys can escape. Maybe..."

"No!" Wolf snarled. "Don't you get it kid? We aren't going to have you risk your life to save ours. We are in this together. Understand?"

Alex looked at him in confusion. "No. No I don't understand. Why do you guys care about me? You should want me to be killed. This," Alex spread his hands out, "this is all because of me. I have nothing left to lose because I've lost everything already. I don't care if I die. But you guys have each other. You have a family. Friends. Don't you want to live? Don't you want to be happy?"

Ben was about to say something, but Wolf beat him to it. Wolf picked Alex up and plopped him down on his lap. Alex blinked.

"You want to know why we care? I'll tell you why. It's because you are part of this unit. You are our friend. More than that, you're family. We don't leave family behind. We care because you've been shot, tortured, blackmailed, manipulated, put in horrible, horrible situations and now you want to die. You're just a child no matter what anyone says. You should be at school not in a dirty cell, waiting to be tortured. We care, Alex, because we love you. Now do you understand?"

"Yes," Alex answered.

"Good, because I'm not saying that again." Wolf replied, back to his usual self.

A smile tugged at the corner of Alex's mouth. But it quickly disappeared.

"I love you guys too but I'm sure Blunt knows that." Alex said, sounding sad. "He'll blackmail me with you guys."

"Cub, let's take this one step at a time." Snake said gently. "First, we need to find a way out of here. After that, we can set Blunt straight. Okay hun?" He squeezed Alex's hand and ruffled his hair. Alex smiled at the man. Snake always made him feel better. He was like a father to Alex.

"Okay," Alex replied. He leaned against Wolf's chest and fell into a peaceful sleep.

 _*Line Break*_

Nearly two hours later, Dr. Three came back with a big, malicious grin that creeped Alex out, though he didn't show it. The guards were there also.

"Well, gentlemen, I hope you had fun. Because now, it's time for me to have my fun. Who should we take first? Well, this is all because of you. I think you deserve to be the first! Don't look at me like that! You should be honored!"

"Honored, my ass." Alex muttered.

Dr. Three merely chuckled. "Well up you go. Cooperate Alex and you might not be hurt too badly."

Ben stood up, quickly followed by the others. "No!" He said in a firm voice. "You can't take him."

"Actually, I could," Dr. Three replied. "But if one of you would like to volunteer instead of him, be my guest. We have all the time in the world."

"Fine, I'll go." Ben snapped. He stepped forward.

"No!" Alex shouted, clumsily standing up and grabbing his legs. "No you can't leave Ben! I'll go! I'll go!"

Ben gave his teammates a look and they pulled Alex off. Alex began shouting and tried to get up, but Ben was already being led out of the room.

As the door shut and the room fell dark again, Alex was released. He turned around furiously.

"How could you guys?!" He sobbed. "How could you let him leave?"

"Fox will be fine Cub," Eagle told him quietly.

 _*Line Break*_

Meanwhile, in a well-lit, windowless room, Ben's hands were being tied above his head. He grimaced as the rope cut his skin.

Dr. Three smiled. "Well, shall we get started?"

The man brought over a large tray filled with different torture devices. Dr. Three picked up a whip and turned back to the spy. For his part, Ben remained silent and didn't show his fear. Then Dr. Three moved behind him and Ben closed his eyes, bracing himself for the pain he was sure was about to come.

And come it did. The whip came down hard but Ben was determined to not show pain. It came down again and again and five strikes, dark red blood was dripping down Ben's back. Dr. Three moved to the front, repeating the process. The whip kept coming down, each strike hurting more than the previous one. Ben gasped in pain and soft moans escaped his mouth.

 _*Line Break*_

Nearly one hour later, Alex was pacing back and forth across the filthy cell floor.

"When will he be back? What are they doing to him?" Alex asked anxiously.

Finally, the door slid upwards and Ben was unceremoniously thrown in. Everyone jumped up immediately and ran to him. Ben was unconscious and there was so much blood, no one can tell where it was coming from.

Snake immediately took charge, feeling for a pulse.

"His pulse is steady but we need to clean his wounds or he might get an infection. Or worse."

Eagle turned to the door and noticed that a small jug of water was on the ground in front of it. He quickly brought it over. After cleaning the wounds, Snake took off his shirt and ripped it into strips so he could bandage them.

"He should come around in a few minutes," Snake informed his teammates.

Alex bit his bottom lip and ran his hand through Ben's hair.

"Next time, I'll go." He said firmly. But the next time the guards came, it wasn't for him. Wolf was the next one to be taken away.

 _*Line Break*_

 _ **Sooo**_ **, that was quite a chapter, eh? I hope you all enjoyed it. Sorry it took so long to update, but I had my midterm exams so yeah... But now that they're over, I can get back to writing and hopefully, the next chapter will be posted soon. Also, don't be lazy. Please review. Or if you're really lazy, just use this review code I made up:**

 **O= outstanding**

 **N= neutral**

 **B= bad**

 **Just give me the letter. Simple right.**

 **Night Riders**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hello again everyone! I really want to thank everyone who reviewed last chapter. I had over ten reviews for one chapter! That's a pretty big accomplishment for me, so thank you so much! I truly appreciate all of you taking the time to review. So, since so much people love having the action, I promise there'll be action in this one. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Alex Rider or any other characters. All rights go to Anthony Horowitz.**

 _"Next time I'll go," He said firmly. But the next time the guards came, it wasn't for him. Wolf was the next one to be taken away._

A couple of hours later, Ben was relatively okay and was currently sitting in the corner of the room with one arm draped around Alex, who was leaning against his chest with a guilty expression on his face. The silence hung in the air as everyone waited with bated breaths for their leader's return.

Wolf did his best to memorize all the twists and turns they made but, eventually, had to give up for they had been walking for quite some time.

Finally, they arrived at their destination. They stood in front of a steel door for two long minutes and just as Wolf was about to snap and ask why they weren't going in, the guards released him but immediately put up their guns and pointed them at the soldier. A guard kicked the door open with his foot.

"Get in!" He barked.

Wolf glared at him but marched in. The first thing he saw was Dr. Three. The man grinned at him and Wolf gave him a murderous glare.

 _"If only looks can kill,"_ Wolf thought icily.

Dr. Three leaned against a table and crossed his arms.

"You're the leader of your unit, am I right?" Dr. Three asked, that grin still plastered on his face.

Wolf clenched his fists. "That's none of your business."

Dr. Three rolled his eyes. "No matter. I already know you are."

 _"Then why'd you ask?"_ Wolf wanted to ask, but he didn't do that. Not only would he sound childish, but Dr. Three might decide to torture him more.

"Before I start, I just want us to talk. You know, get acquainted." The man continued.

Wolf narrowed his eyes at the innocent looking smile the man gave him. He seriously wanted to punch the guy. Who did he think he _was_?Agoddamn king.

"Here. Catch." Dr. Three threw him a gun.

Wolf caught it easily. He looked down at the weapon in his hand and blinked.

Dr. Three laughed. "Don't get too excited. I know that you'd love to shoot me now but unfortunately for you, that isn't going to happen. The gun isn't loaded."

"Thanks," Wolf replied sarcastically, unable to keep silent any longer. "And why did you give it to me?"

Dr. Three walked closer to him. "It's all part of my brilliant plan."

Dr. Three stopped a couple of feet away from him. Close enough for Wolf to see the evil glint in his eye, but far enough so Wolf wouldn't be able to knock him out.

"What do you know about Alex?" Dr. Three asked.

"Not much," Wolf replied truthfully.

"Tell me what you know."

"No," Wolf snapped. He wasn't betraying Alex's trust even if it spelled his death.

Dr. Three gave a mocking sigh. "I bet you don't even know anything."

Wolf resisted the urge to roll his eyes. If the man was hoping that taunting him would get him to spill, he was completely wrong.

"You're right. I don't know anything." Wolf played along with him.

"Nothing?" Dr. Three asked. "So... You don't know that he was afraid that becoming your friend would hurt you. Maybe even kill you."

Wolf's breath hitched. "What do you want?"

Dr. Three ignored him. "Did you know that he was suicidal?"

Wolf started to feel uneasy, but like the professional soldier he was, he refused to let his emotions show.

"I bet you're wondering how I know that. Remember, I'm part of Scorpia. If, for example, Alex jumped into a fire that we created, we would know. Poor Alex," he added, acting sorrowful. "The death of the Pleasures hit him hard, didn't it?"

For a moment, Wolf was confused. He didn't know any Pleasures. But he had a brief flashback to the first day Ben came. He said Alex's adoptive family died. They must have been the Pleasures.

"What do you want?" Wolf asked forcefully.

Dr. Three pretended to be surprised. "You don't know? I want to hurt Alex, of course! And what's the best way to hurt a mentally unstable child? With mental torture. Do you understand now?

¨And what do you want from me?" Wolf asked.

Dr. Three tapped his nose. ¨All in good time, my friend. All in good time. ¨ Then, Dr. Three clapped once and said, "Well, enough of this talking. Let's get to the fun stuff. Guards!"

The guards stomped back in, pulled the gun out of Wolf's hand and dragged him over to the center of the room. Wolf gritted his teeth as the guards tied his hands above his head. Dr. Three brought over a tray that had an assortment of torture devices. Dr. Three picked up a stun belt and fastened it around Wolf's waist.

Wolf braced himself for the pain that he knew would come. Dr. Three smiled as he pressed the button. Immediately, Wolf felt a horrible shock. Pain shot through his body and he became temporarily paralyzed. He tried to fight against the pain. Tried to move. But it was as if some invisible force controlled him. The sense of helplessness threatened to consume him. He hated the feeling.

Several long minutes passed, and the pain finally dissolved, but it left him weak. And just as he was beginning to feel relief, Dr. Three pressed the button again and Wolf gasped at the sudden shock. This went on for two more times. Each one making Wolf weaker than the previous one.

Finally, Dr. Three took off the stun belt and put it away. But he wasn't done. He picked up a whip covered in blood. Wolf instantly knew whose blood had been spilled.

Ben's.

Wolf gritted his teeth as the whip came down hard on his back. The second time the whip came down, he felt his skin slice open. But still, Wolf refused to show any pain. Refused to give his torturer any satisfaction. So he focused on breathing and tried to ignore the pain of the whip as it sailed down over and over again.

 _Finally,_ an hour later, Dr. Three finished. Wolf breathed through the pain and tried to focus. He knew that Dr. Three could've done worse. Much worse. But he didn't. And that made Wolf wonder. What exactly was going on?

"What's taking them so long?" Alex asked impatiently for the fifth time.

"Alex, sit down." Ben said softly. "There's nothing we can do but wait."

Even as he said the words, he himself couldn't help but feel a twinge of worry. Alex sat down with a loud, frustrated sigh and covered his face with his hands.

A couple of minutes later, the door opened and everyone's heads immediately snapped up. They didn't even wait for their kidnappers to leave, nor did they care about the guns pointed at their faces. They all ran over to Wolf as soon as he was thrown in.

Snake poked and prodded at the unconscious body, muttering the whole time. Eagle pulled off his own shirt, tore it into strips, and gave it to the medic. Then he stood up and grabbed the small jug of water their captors had left behind.

Snake frowned at something, but then he cleaned up the blood and wounds and tied them with the shirt tightly.

"Is he okay?" Eagle asked.

Snake wiped his hands on his pants before answering. "He's in a stable condition. He has whip marks on his back and it'll hurt quite a bit when he wakes up, but he'll be fine now that he's not losing any more blood. Or at least, as fine as he could get in these situations."

Alex sat quietly and thought for a moment.

"What's going on in that head of yours?" Eagle asked him.

Alex frowned and shook his head. "Nothing."

"Come on Alex." Ben said softly. "Enlighten us."

Alex sighed. "Dr. Three didn't torture Wolf or B- _Fox_ as much as he could have. I mean… I'm glad he didn't use extreme torture but I just don't understand why he would do that. Isn't his aim to kill us?"

"He did say that he's supposed to drag out our deaths for as long as possible." Coyote pointed out.

Alex shook his head furiously. "No, he said he'd drag out _my_ death for as long as possible. Not yours." He countered.

Coyote thought about that a little. Dr. Three said he'd use mental torture on Alex. It's very possible that he'd drag out K-unit's death just so Alex would see them suffer before Dr. Three killed them. He exchanged looks with the others and they all seemed to be thinking along the same lines.

Alex noticed. "Tell me."

They all hesitated. _"Tell me!"_ Alex repeated, a bit more command in his voice.

Ben fidgeted. "Alex, Dr. Three said he'll _mentally_ torture you. He could do that by… you know. Killing us slowly."

Alex's eyes widened in realization and he slumped down to the ground. "We'll find a way out. I know we can."

"How is anyone going to find us?" Snake asked.

"I don't know." Alex massaged the bridge of his nose. "But hope is the only thing keeping me sane. We have to have hope… however false it may be."

Coyote sat down next to him and the others followed suit, gathering around Alex.

Silence filled the next couple of moments but then Alex's head shot up. The others looked at him in surprise.

"What's wrong?" Snake asked, concern etched into face.

Alex stood up and paced as he talked. "Of course! How could I have been so stupid? How could I have forgotten?"

The others exchanged confused looks.

"Kid, seriously, what's up?" Coyote asked.

Alex took a calming breath and sat down next to them. "There's only one way to escape."

Alex made a sweep of the room with his eyes, trying to find bugs, but not finding any.

Satisfied, he resumed talking, "Before going to Brecon Beacons, I made a stop at Smither's workshop. I had a small device implanted in my chest. If my heart beat slows down or stops, a little alarm gets sent to MI6 and they find out where I am."

Eagle frowned. "If your heart stops, then what's the point of…" Realization dawned on him. "Oh. To recover the body."

"So what do you want to do? Get yourself tortured? Because that's out of the question." Coyote said firmly.

Alex sat down, his legs folded underneath him. "Think about it." Snake opened his mouth to speak but Alex put his hand up, stopping him.

"Please stop and listen to me. You were all kidnapped because of me. That's one thing we know for a fact. You can't argue with that. Now, maybe you do care about me or maybe you don't. I don't know. I understand that you guys might not want me to be tortured but it's either we all die or only I die.

"I'm not part of your unit. I never was. I was only going to stay with you guys for a while. You've been with each other for a long time. You're like family. And I know for a fact that no matter how much you all care about me, you care about each other more."

The other's faces closed off and they crossed their arms over their chests. Alex ran his fingers through his hair. He didn't know how to explain it. How was he supposed to make them understand? He took a deep breath and tried again.

"What I'm saying is, you can't sacrifice yourselves for me. I'm not worth it. And it's not like I'm going to stay with you guys forever. If we stay here, we're all gonna die. None of us want that. So the only thing we can do to get out of this place is to have one of us die for the others to escape. One person dying is better than everyone, right? You guys have each other. You have a _family_. I have nobody. _I have nothing to lose_ and I'm the _only_ one that can get us out. Please don't argue with me. Please don't try to stop me. I wouldn't be able to bear it if you guys died because of me."

"Inspiring speech, but no." Wolf said, having regained consciousness at the beginning to Alex's little speech.

"Wolf, _we have no choice_." Alex said quietly.

"There has to be another way out. The sergeant would've noticed us missing. I bet MI6 is searching for us right now."

Alex gave him a calculating look. "Yeah. You keep on thinking that."

Despite him having said before that MI6 would be searching for them, he didn't believe himself. He knew that MI6 couldn't care less about him. The teenage spy stood up and sat as further away from them as possible. He wrapped his arms around his knees, drawing them towards his chest, and fell into a dreamless sleep.

Alex woke up some time later and immediately noticed that something was different. Someone was missing. Wolf? Here. Ben? Here. Alex mentally checked off each name as he saw them.

Suddenly, he went rigid. Coyote was missing. The others, who had been staring at him intently since he had woken up, squirmed when they saw the look on Alex's face, which had changed from shock to fury and then went blank.

"Guys," Alex whispered deadly. "Where is Coyote?"

When Eagle realized that no one was going to answer, he spoke up, his voice laced with discomfort and hesitancy.

"Well, you see, about thirty minutes ago, the guards came and um… tookCoyoteaway." He finished, rushing to get it all out at once.

"And why didn't anyone wake me up?" Alex asked, still in that creepy whisper.

"We didn't want to wake you from your beauty rest," came the unintelligible reply.

Alex mentally face palmed. Eagle gulped as he saw the young spy's fists clench in anger. Alex took a deep calming breath and buried his face in his hands.

"Cub…" Snake started.

"Shut up." Alex snapped. "Just. Shut. Up."

Coyote was shoved in the room by the guards and came face to face with Dr. Three.

¨Hello there!" Dr. Three said cheerfully.

Coyote´s facial expression smoothed out and showed not a single emotion. Dr. Three wheeled a cart and placed it in between Coyote and himself.

"Come closer! Come closer! No need to be shy!" Dr. Three gestured for Coyote, who resisted the urge to roll his eyes, to take a closer look.

The trays were filled with many different kinds of torture devices, from whips, to boiling water, to Tasers. He seemed to have every torture device ever made.

Dr. Three twirled the whip in his hands. "Which device should I use to torture Alex?"

Coyote clenched his fists in anger. Dr. Three was so close to him that if Coyote extended his arm, he would've touched him. The only thing separating them was the cart. He wanted to take the Taser and test it out on the sadistic bastard that was standing in front of him.

Dr. Three must have known what Coyote was thinking because he said. "I suggest you don't try anything. I could have you dead in a blink of the eye. Watch."

Dr. Three must've given some sort of signal because all of a sudden, a dozen guards were pointing guns at Coyote.

"Told you so." Dr. Three said in a light tone. He waved his hands and as if by magic, all the guards disappeared. "Now, I want you to cooperate or I'll have to punish you and I promise you, it won't be pleasant. I want to ask you a question."

Coyote was confused. Where was the torture and pain that he had braced himself for before entering the room?

Dr. Three paused for a dramatic effect. He picked up a device from the cart and showed it to Coyote.

"I want you to tell me everything you know about this device and what would happen if I used it on Alex."

Although Coyote was even more confused, he had a bad feeling about this.

"Why?" Coyote finally spoke up.

Dr. Three shrugged. "I just want to see how much you know."

Coyote took a good look at the device in the man's hand. This man was a world renowned torture expert. Coyote knew that Dr Three knew what the device was. Seeing no harm yet in cooperating, Coyote began to speak.

"A stun gun. It has a low amperage and a high voltage shock. A one-half second contact can repel and startle an attacker and can cause pain and muscle contractions. Two seconds can cause a dazed mental state. If you use it on Alex for over three seconds, he'll lose balance and muscle control. He'll also be confused and disoriented. He can be put down very quickly if he struggles."

Coyote's voice was hard and cold. Every word that he said made him angrier and angrier and by the end, he was struggling to contain the fury directed at the man smiling in front of him. But unbeknown to him, a hard and cold tone was _exactly_ what Dr. Three wanted.

Dr. Three clapped once and put on the cheerful smile that Coyote was starting to loath.

"You've done a great job! Perhaps I won't hurt you too badly. Well, let's get started."

The guards came again and as Coyote's hands were being tied above his head, he braced himself again and this time, he knew the pain would come.

Two agonizing hours later, Coyote's unconscious body was thrown into the cell where Alex and K-unit were waiting. Like always, a small jug of water was pushed in after him.

K-unit immediately jumped to their feet. Eagle went to get the water and Snake began examining and cleaning Coyote's wounds.

Just like Wolf and Fox, the wounds were bad but not too bad. Certainly not what they expected. As Coyote began to regain consciousness, everyone took a few steps back to give him some room.

Coyote sat up and immediately and fell back again. Wolf appeared next to him and held him.

"Easy, buddy, easy." Wolf helped him up.

"What did Three do to you?" Ben asked when Coyote's headache began to subside.

"Nothing too bad. He whipped me a bit. Stunned me too. But only for about 3 seconds." Coyote replied slowly.

A tear slid down Alex's cheek. He loved all of K-unit but Coyote had been especially nice to him and seeing him lying on the floor in pain cut straight to his heart. He moved to the back of the group and hastily wiped the tear away but it didn't escape Coyote's notice.

"You okay, Cub?" He asked softly.

Alex walked over and knelt next to him. "I'm okay," he whispered softly.

He very gently wrapped his arms around Coyote's neck. The soldier hugged Alex back.

"Everything will be okay. I know it will." Coyote murmured softly into the child's ear. Alex sighed and buried his face into friend's neck.

Coyote ran his fingers through Alex's hair and Alex immediately relaxed. After a couple of minutes, he fell into a peaceful sleep.

Alex was determined to stay awake until the guards came back. He absolutely wasn't going to let Eagle or Snake, the only two unharmed soldiers in K-unit, get tortured. But to his increasing frustration, the guard didn't come back.

For two days (or what Alex thought was two days; it was hard to tell the time), the guards didn't come back. K-unit caught on to what Alex was doing and forced him to sleep. He used that time to train himself to wake up at the slightest sound or movement.

Finally, when Alex was beginning to think that Dr. Three had forgotten about them and went on a vacation to Hawaii, him and the guards came back. This time, however, they didn't drag someone off to the torture room.

This time, they dragged away _everyone._ Or almost everyone. They left Alex behind.

It happened about two days after Coyote was tortured. The soldiers were whispering quietly to each other and Alex was slumped in the shadows, thinking, when the door silently opened and in came Dr. Three and his minions.

Alex couldn't remember a time when he'd seen Dr. Three grin wider than he was now.

"Hello everyone!" Dr. Three exclaimed. "I know it's been awhile since we've seen each other and I hope you didn't miss me too much" -Alex snorted quietly- "but I've got a great surprise. But we'll need to move you to another room. So come on, up you go!"

"And if we don't want to?" Wolf snarled.

Dr. Three sighed. "Must we go through this? You don't have a choice really."

The sound of a bullet sliced the air and planted itself next to Wolf's head.

¨Are we clear now? ¨ Dr. Three raised an eyebrow.

Wolf grimaced. ¨Crystal. ¨

¨Now up you go. ¨ K-unit stood up but when Dr. Three saw Alex get up, he stopped him. ¨Ah, ah, ah! You, my dear Alex, are going to stay here. I have a special surprise waiting for you."

Alex grimaced and stepped back. The others seemed reluctant to leave him.

"Go." Alex's voice wasn't loud but it was filled with authority and power. The soldiers and spy threw Alex a glance and left him.

When they were about 30 feet away from the room they had just vacated, Dr. Three spun around and faced Wolf.

"Here," He threw him a gun. "You can have it back." He said before turning around and leaving the group with the guards

" _Back?"_ The others thought.

Wolf answered their unasked questions. "I forgot to tell you guys. Before Three tortured me, he gave me a gun." He held up the gun and murmured. "It was unloaded before and…" he checked the gun," and it's still unloaded."

Coyote frowned and spoke softly so the guards wouldn't hear them. "That's strange. Before torturing me, he picked up a stun gun and told me to tell him everything I knew about it and what would happen if he used it on Alex."

"Did you tell him?" Snake asked.

"Yes," Coyote replied truthfully, though a little guiltily. He was sure more than ever that he had made a big mistake.

Eagle looked back in the direction they came from. "We need to find a way out of here soon. Me and Snake are the only ones that aren't hurt. If he tortures us, we'll all be too weak to escape." He added as an afterthought. "Poor kid. We have to help him."

Snake opened his mouth to say something but he was jabbed in the back by one of the guard's guns. "Keep moving!" The guard shouted.

The group kept moving and didn't say anything for the rest of the way, each lost in their own thoughts about what Dr. Three could possibly do to Alex.

Soon, they were thrown into a new room. It was the same as the other one: it was dark, gloomy, and had a steel door that swung open silently. The only additions were a small cot in the corner and a toilet in another corner. It also looked a bit bigger than their own room

They sat down on the hard, filthy ground and wondered what Alex was doing right now.

About a day later, the guards dragged Alex into the torture room and tied his hands above his head, his feet dangled about two feet above the ground.

Dr. Three came in and smiled at the boy. "It's finally your turn Alex! Are you excited?"

Alex didn't reply.

The man sighed. "You're no fun when you're silent. Let's see if we could get and sounds to escape your mouth."

"But first, let's take off your shirt. We don't want to get any blood stains on it, now do we?" Dr. Three picked up a knife and tore Alex's shirt with it.

He threw the shirt aside and picked up a stun gun. "Coyote suggested I torture you with a stun gun. I think it's a very good suggestion, don't you?"

Alex closed his eyes and tried to ignore the pain that came with betrayal. Of all people, he would've never thought Coyote would turn against him. But it was ridiculous to ever trust someone. He thought Ash was a great person and he knew how well that relationship went.

Alex braced himself for the pain but he was still wasn't prepared when one million volts of electricity shot through his body. He was temporarily paralyzed and when the shock died down, his muscles felt like pudding and he had very little energy.

Alex was shocked a second time and a third time, each time a second longer than the last.

By the end, Alex was near faint but he refused to collapse.

Dr. Three put the stun gun away and picked up the whip. Without warning, it sliced Alex's back.

The sudden pain made Alex gasp out loud. Dr. Three whipped him again and Alex bit his lip to keep from crying out. The whip came down again and again and Alex's back filled with blood.

Dr. Three moved to his front and brought the whip down on Alex's chest - right where the bullet wound was.

This time, Alex couldn't stop the cry that escaped his lips.

"What's this?" Dr. Three mocked. "Has the great Alex Rider finally broken? That was much too quick."

Dr. Three reeled his fist back and punched Alex - hard - on the jaw. Alex spit out blood.

"Let's leave a lasting scar." Dr. Three said softly, placing the back of his hand on Alex's cheek.

Dr. Three moved out of Alex's line of sight and Alex shut his eyes tightly, preparing himself for this lasting scar.

Dr. Three picked up a container and splashed a clear, bubbling liquid on Alex's back. Alex let out an ear piercing scream.

Boiling water.

The blood was washed off but the boiling water burned his back and gathered into the scars made by the whip. Dr. Three wasn't finished yet. He picked up a knife and drew a line across his back. Blood dripped out.

He made the letter K.

"Isn't life cruel Alex?" Dr. Three whispered. He drew more letters.

An 'I' came next.

"Don't you hate yourself?"

L.

"How does it feel to be hurt, betrayed, _owned?"_

L.

"How does it feel to have killed so many people?"

E.

"Have you justified your actions for the past year and a half?"

R.

"Well, let me tell you the horrible truth Alex. You intentionally killed people. Do you justify murdering them by saying they were evil people? Monsters, perhaps? They were human Alex. Just like me and you. They had families and you wiped their existence of the face of the planet. How do you justify that?"

"And what about all the people that died protecting you? Your parents? Ian? Yassen? _Jack?_ Do you ever think about them and what you did to them?"

Dr. Three stepped back and looked at the word he had drawn on Alex's back.

KILLER

"The truth Alex, is that you're a killer. You are no better than the people you so mercilessly killed. Don't ever forget that?"

Guards dragged Alec back to his cell and gave him a jug of water and some towels.

Alex crawled over and wiped himself as best as he could without aggravating his wounds and causing more pain.

However, he didn't know why he was cleaning himself up. He should be dead.

Words cannot describe how Alex felt. Listening to Dr. Three, Alex realized how true the man's words were. He was a killer. That was too much for him.

He fell over the edge and into the abyss of carelessness.

For three days, nothing happened and Alex was bored. But on the fourth day, something strange happened.

Dr. Three wheeled in a television. Alex was confused. Was Three going to entertain him?

"The surprise is finished! Do you know what's going to happen now?" Dr. Three asked.

Alex narrowed his eyes. "You're going to make me watch something, then you're going to torture me with ridiculous lies."

Dr. Three laughed heartily. "Well, you're almost right. I'd like you to watch something; however, there are no lies."

Alex raised his eyebrow and Dr. Three continued. "I see you don't believe me. I expected no less which is why I brought the television. For proof."

Dr. Three wheeled the television set a bit closer and stood to the side, pointing the remote at it.

Suddenly, Alex had a flashback to when Razim made Alex watch as Jack died. Alex had the same horrible feeling now.

The man grinned from ear to ear. "This video is about K-unit. Your "friends." Dr. Three made air quotations when he said the word 'friends.'

"There's really no way to break it you nicely. So I'll be blunt and straight to the point. They betrayed you. They were never your friends. They were working for me."

Alex immediately defended them. "That's a lie! I know them. They're trustworthy."

"Is that really what you think? When has anyone been your friend? Who have you ever really trusted? The clues were there all along Alex. Why do you think people would love and protect a person they barely know? Why do you think Ben volunteered to go first? They lied Alex. They pretended to care about you. They didn't all want to go first so you'll be protected. They wanted to talk to me. We had to make everything believable so I had to torture them but didn't you notice how they weren't tortured too badly?"

Dr. Three paused here and let all the information sink in. He could see the doubt and uncertainty on Alex's face. He almost had him.

As for Alex, everything was starting to make sense. Pieces were falling in. What Dr. Three said made sense. The only question was… could Alex believe this man? He didn't want to. He had truly believed that they cared about him. The torture that Alex had just experienced was making him weak and he couldn't think straight.

Alex felt vulnerable but he refused to believe the man with no proof.

"I don't believe you," Alex said, though his voice was laced with uncertainty and hesitancy.

Dr. Three simply smiled and turned on the t.v. Immediately, Wolf and Dr. Three showed up on the screen.

Alex knew when this happened: when the guards took Wolf away. A bad feeling settled in the pit of Alex's stomach but he didn't make a noise and listened to their conversation.

Dr. Three threw a gun to Wolf. "Here," he said. "Catch."

Wolf caught the gun and said, "Thanks."

The scene changed. Wolf was replaced with Coyote.

A tray of torture devices was in between the two men.

Dr. Three looked down at the tray. "Which device should I use to torture Alex?"

"A stun gun." Coyote replied. "It has a low amperage and a high voltage shock. A one-half second contact can repel and startle an attacker and can cause pain and muscle contractions. Two seconds can cause a dazed mental state. If you use it on Alex for over three seconds, he'll lose balance and muscle control. He'll also be confused and disoriented. He can be put down very quickly if he struggles."

The scene changed once more. This was a video of all of K-unit. They were in one of the corridors. This little scene must have been when Dr. Three was "putting them in a new room."

Alex scoffed. As if. He probably let them go.

Dr. Three threw Wolf a gun, the same gun he had given him before. "Here," he said. "You can have it back." Dr. Three left them.

Wolf lifted the gun to show the rest of his unit. "I forgot to tell you guys," he told them. "Before Three tortured me, he gave me a gun."

The scene ended and Dr. Three turned off the television. He face brightened at the look of utter devastation and betrayal on Alex's face.

"Do you believe me now? Or should I collect more evidence?" Dr. Three asked.

Alex's voice was scratchy and low. "I believe you." he whispered.

His body ached, his hands trembled, his head spun, and his heart melted… and it had nothing to do with the torture.

 **Wow! This chapter is long overdue. I'm extremely sorry for taking so long… and for the cliffhanger. Life just got in the way and I couldn't find the time to write. I know it's a horrible excuse, but it's all I got. I really hope you enjoy this chapter. I took your reviews into consideration and did my best to turn this chapter into an enjoyable read. Again, I'm so sorry but I'm not giving up on this story.**

 **If anyone has any questions, comments, or concerns, please don't hesitate to review or PM me.**

 **Night Riders**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey! I'm back and I hope I didn't take too long to update. Not much reviews for last chapter. I think the long wait made me lose a bunch of readers… sorry. I hope this chapter makes up for it. I tried to add a bit of a twist, though I'm sure someone is going to figure it out eventually. Anyway, enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: All rights go to the wonderful Anthony Horowitz.**

 _His body ached, his hands trembled, his head spun, and his heart melted… and it had nothing to do with the torture._

Alex inhaled. Then exhaled. Inhale. Exhale. He repeated this many times, just trying to clear his mind from horrific thoughts of hate and betrayal.

He still couldn't believe it. It's been nearly a week since Alex discovered of K-unit's betrayal and it struck him to the core. How can they have been so harsh? He trusted them. Yet, there was still a nagging voice in the back of his head that was telling him that something was wrong. That K-unit was innocent.

But he tried to ignore that voice, because as much as he wanted to believe it, he couldn't. Dr. Three showed him the proof.

Alex's shoulders slumped in defeat. He lost all fight in him. What was the point of living? His life was torture. Horrible, horrible, torture. Alex closed his eyes and a montage of images slid across his mind.

Ian, laughing, with his arm around Alex.

Alex playing tennis with his uncle.

Alex, Ian, and Jack eating ice cream in the park.

Suddenly, he felt ashamed. How could he think of suicide when his uncle had done so much for him. When his uncle had taught him to be strong and always get up after he falls. No, Alex would not sink into depressing thoughts of suicide.

Alex was going to fight. He was going to fight until his last breath. Yes, betrayal hurt. Yes, torture hurt. Yes, loneliness hurt. But he was going to stand up and move on. He was Alex Rider and Alex owed that much to his uncle. It would take more than torture to take him down.

No more letting his emotions cloud his vision. His walls were built, strong and high. To trust a person, he would need proof that they would do anything for him. That they would stay by his side no matter what. No more trusting people blindly. No more.

Fox paced the cell with quick, frustrated steps.

"What's he doing? That bloody idiot!" Fox shouted for the twentieth time.

Coyote- who had been silent while Fox ranted, Snake tried to calm him down, and Eagle and Wolf bickered- Coyote spoke up.

"I feel like we made a very bad mistake." He said, effectively shutting the others up.

"What do you mean?" Eagle asked.

"The gun Dr. Three gave wolf, the questions he asked me… something bad is going to happen to Cub because of it. Mental torture Dr. Three said. But what did he mean?"

Wolf frowned. "I know what you mean. Cub is going to pay for what we did."

Snake, who, as a medic, knew a lot about mental torture and was usually a quiet person who often looked outside the box, he had an idea of what Dr. Three might do to Alex. He had been thinking about it for days.

"I think I know what will happen," Snake began, getting the others attention. He hesitated. "Well, I'm not _sure,_ but I think I know. What if… Dr. Three somehow shows Cub the moment when he gave you the gun and tricks him into thinking that we betrayed him."

"You mean, like, he was taking a video of Coyote and Wolf?" Eagle asked.

"I guess so. It's possible." Snake replied.

Coyote frowned. "Yeah, I understand how Wolf having a gun can lead Cub into thinking that he was betrayed… But what about me."

"Tell us exactly what happened with you and what Dr. Three told you." Fox said, deep in thought.

"Well," Coyote scrunched his face in concentration. "Okay, so the guards took me to the room and I thought they were going to torture me, but instead they took me to the middle of the room. Then Dr. Three wheeled this tray between us and it was filled with torture devices. He asked me what device he should use on Alex and… what?"

When Coyote said that last bit, Fox's eyes widened in realization. "I… nothing. Keep going." Ben bit his lip, a feeling of dread settling in the pit of his stomach.

Coyote cast him a curious but worried glance and continued. "He asked me what device he should use on Alex. I didn't say anything so he picked up a stun gun and told me to tell him everything I know about it and what would happen if it was used on Alex. I asked him why he wanted to know but he said he was just curious. I saw no harm so I told him and then he put the tray back, which the guards tied my hands above my head. Dr. Three came back and tortured me."

Ben massaged his shoulders and sighed in frustration. "What?!" Wolf asked him.

"I… Let's assume that Snake is right and that Dr. Three did take a video of you guys. If he did that, then he might've shown Alex a video of him asking Coyote what device he should use to torture Alex and then shown the part where Coyote described the stun gun and the effects it would have on Alex if it was used on him."

"So he's taking out the parts that show we aren't betraying Cub and using specific moments that lead Alex into thinking that we're working with Dr. Three." Wolf summarized everything.

"Basically."

"We need to get out of here."

As time went on, Alex was getting more and more uncertain as to whether K-unit was betraying him or not.

He truly didn't believe that Ben would betray him. The man took a bullet for him for Christ's sakes! He loved Alex and Alex was certain that the spy wouldn't turn against him. He was sure.

As for K-unit, well he couldn't come up with any solid reasons for them to betray him, but he couldn't come up with reasons as to why they _wouldn't_ betray him.

Coyote was extremely kind to him and he was, in many ways, similar to Ben. He was like a Ben-in-training. But unlike Ben, Coyote hadn't taken a bullet for him or has done anything that would serve as solid evidence that would show the honesty of their friendship.

Wolf was harder though. True, Wolf was a big bully to him the first time around. But this time, he seemed kinder to him, albeit a bit outraged at Alex's sarcastic remarks and refusal to answer any questions. And Wolf wasn't exactly a sentimental person. He didn't display outward signs of affection so Alex had no idea what the hell was going on behind the soldier mask that Wolf always wore.

Alex was 150% sure that Eagle and Snake weren't working with Dr. Three. Eagle was way too crazy and cheerful to be an assassin and Snake was way too mother like to be a torturer. Those weren't great reasons, he knew, but it was just very unlikely that they'd turn against him. Besides, in the video that Dr. Three showed him, Eagle and Snake didn't show up once. And neither did Ben.

Another thing was that K-unit have been soldiers for a long time. A year and a half to be exact. They were soldiers long before Alex ran into Scorpia so they would have had to act as the patriotic soldiers for a long time. Although it was possible that they were acting the whole time, it just wasn't likely.

And why should Alex believe what Dr. Three shows or tells him? Dr. Three was a torturer. Alex was sure of _that._ Why would Alex believe what a man like him would say?

Alex wondered what K-unit was doing and whether they knew what Dr. Three showed him. Probably not.

Alex had to get out of here. But although he had gotten used to the pain, he couldn't move without gasping and waiting for it to subside. He was pretty much useless. So there's only one thing left for him to do. Let Dr. Three torture him until his heartbeat slows down to a terrifying pace and hope that MI6 gets the signal. But where was Dr. Three? He hadn't seen him for a while.

The door opened, revealing Dr. Three.

" _Speak of the devil,"_ Alex thought dryly.

"Hello, my child! I hope you haven't missed me too much." Dr. Three started off cheerfully.

Alex tried to give him a sarcastic remark, but found that talking hurt too much and his jaw was sore, so all that came out was a strange noise.

Dr. Three smirked. "Hmmm… Cat got your tongue?"

Alex threw him the most hate-filled glare he can muster.

Dr. Three laughed and signaled for the guards.

"Let's go. I've got a bit of time I'd like to spend with you."

Faced with a dozen guns, Alex had no choice but to follow. He shakily and painfully got to his feet but fell straight back down again.

Dr. Three tsked and snapped his fingers. A guard stepped forward and threw Alex over his shoulders, eliciting a painful gasp from the boy.

As they left, the guard purposely bounced Alex up and down as much as he could. Alex nearly blacked out but he willed himself to stay awake for a bit longer. He looked back at the door that they had come through and saw an electronic keypad next to the door. That was how they opened and closed the door.

Even now, another guard stepped forward and punched in some numbers. Alex strained his eyes.

7267742

SCORPIA.

Alex memorized the number before falling into the warm arms of unconsciousness.

 _Whack!_ A hand slapped Alex's cheek, startling him back into reality. His vision was groggy and out of focus but the conscious part of him was alert. Where was he? Who was this? Enemy? Friend?

 _Whack!_ Alex's head was knocked to the side.

" _Definitely enemy,"_ he thought painfully.

"Wake up!" Dr. Three yelled.

Ahh… Dr. Three. Alex remembered where he was. Stuck in a room with a madman in the middle of nowhere.

A soft moan escaped Alex's lips and the slapping temporarily stopped. His body was aching, his back stung, and he could feel warm blood dripping down his torso.

Black dots popped up in his vision and he nearly fell unconscious again. He shut his eyes and willed himself to stay conscious. He opened his eyes and slowly, the black dots disappeared and the pounding headache from before started to subside.

His vision cleared and standing in front of him, with a grin on his face, was Dr. Three. Alex managed to let out a swear word.

Dr. Three tsked. "We really need to clean that mouth of yours." He said, pressing his hand into Alex's bullet wound.

Alex shut his eyes in pain and that was when Dr. Three made his move. A bar of soap, yes _soap,_ was stuffed into his mouth. Alex tried to spit it out.

"Take a bite," Dr. Three instructed.

Alex refused. Dr. Three pinched his nose and panic gripped Alex. He couldn't breathe. Very reluctantly, he bit down.

Now, soap is sweet smelling and it cleans you, but the taste - that's horrendous.

A wave of nausea swept over Alex; he tried to spit the soap out but Dr. Three covered his mouth. Alex could feel bile rising up his throat.

The taste was so bad… so bad. Saliva mixed with soap and created bubbly, foamy water. Dr. Three pushed the soap deeper into his mouth, causing Alex to chew it.

Alex closed his eyes and forced his stomach's contents to stay down. He would've loved to have a bar of soap any old day. But he wanted to scrub his body with it, not chew it.

Finally, after what Alex thought was forever - but was actually only 5 minutes - Dr. Three allowed him to spit the soap out. There really wasn't much left. Alex swallowed about half of the bite, a fourth turned into bubbles, and the last fourth was tiny, chewed up pieces - which was what he spat out.

But he kept on spitting, trying to rid his mouth of the foul taste. He head hung a little but a whip sliced his back, and his head shot up with pain. He gasped.

"I hope you have learned your lesson." Dr. Three said. Although Alex couldn't see him, he could hear the laughter in the man's voice and he was certain the bastard was grinning.

Dr. Three tased him and his body went straight in the air, shocked from the electric jolt.

Dr. Three tased and whipped him more and more and once he was satisfied with the amount of blood covering Alex's body, he stepped back. Alex would've normally sighed with relief at this, thinking that the torture was over. But he's learned to never let his guard down. Always expect the worst.

And the worst did come.

Boiling hot water caused him to scream at the top of his lungs. It wasn't splashed on him from behind. No. It was poured from on top. Dr. Three held a bucket over his head and poured the hot water down, quickly stepping back to avoid getting some on himself.

Alex thankfully closed his eyes a second before the water touched his face, but the searing pain was too much. He couldn't handle it.

Burning… burning. He needed water. Cold water. He couldn't handle it. He couldn't. This was too much… too much.

The boiling liquid seeped through the open wounds, ran down his cheeks, and set his body on fire. Pure fire.

Dr. Three's torture session was over, but as Alex was painfully dragged back to his cell, he couldn't help but think that the torture hadn't ended for him and wouldn't for a long, long time.

He tried to clean some water off but nothing helped. He stretched on the floor - hoping the pain would just go _away -_ and let pain filled tears fall down his cheeks and mix in with the hot water.

K-unit were silent, each sitting in their own corner of the cell and lost in their own thoughts.

Suddenly, a gut wrenching scream sliced through air, terrifying K-unit.

Fox shot up. "Alex!" He yelled.

The others scrambled up and pounded on the door, yelling for Dr. Three to stop and calling Alex's name. Over and over and over, they yelled and begged and pounded, but their pleas fell on deaf ears. The scream went on for at least two minutes and then it abruptly stopped. Yet, K-unit kept on going, even more worried about Alex.

Eventually, they're voices went hoarse from the yelling and they had to give up. Fox bit his lip and started running his hands over the walls frantically.

"What are you doing?" Eagle asked, exhausted.

"There has to be some way out," Ben replied, frustration evident in his voice. "There must be some kind of flaw. We have to find Alex."

The other got up and helped him. They searched every nook and cranny of the cell, pushed some places in the walls to see if they'd reveal anything, and they tried to find something that would help them open the door. Nothing helped. Dr. Three took extreme caution. There was no way to escape on their own. All they could do was hope that MI6 would come. And come quickly.

For Alex's safety.

Alex froze, doing his best to not move a muscle or breathe too hard. His body was filled with searing pain. And he was so _hot._ But he couldn't sweat. His body couldn't cool itself. He knew that he could have a heatstroke if he didn't get to a hospital or find some way to cool himself.

Suddenly, the door opened and a guard came in.

"Want some water, kid?" The guard had a deep, cruel sounding voice. He held up a jug of water.

Cold, cold water… Alex wanted some. He tried to say yes or nod, but all he could manage was "Ehhhs."

The guard sneered, placed the jug in the corner furthest from Alex and left.

Tears formed in Alex's eyes. He needed the water. He needed it. He could see the cold air rising above the water. The jug was fogging up from the cold. He wanted it.

He very slowly turned on his stomach, each movement causing him great pain. Inch by inch, he crawled his way to the water. It took him nearly an hour and by the end, he was absolutely exhausted.

He reached his hand toward the water and…

"Aaahhh!"

The water was boiling. Hot. The scream tore his throat and a heart wrenching sob mixed in, causing K-unit to pound on the door and beg and yell for their teammate.

Eventually, Alex stopped screaming. His voice was hoarse and his throat was scratchy. Everything was burning hot. He was even afraid to cry because every tear burned its way down his cheek. He just wanted to go home. Just go home. That's all. Why couldn't anyone leave him alone?

The pain, thirst, and hunger made him fall into the blissful arms of unconsciousness.

* Back in Liverpool*

Mrs. Jones picked up the phone. It was from Smithers.

"How may I help you Derek?"

"I've gotten a signal on Alex." He replied. "I know where he is."

"Come to my office right now," she instructed, a bit anxious but relieved at the same time.

Less than two minutes later, Smithers was knocking on her door.

"Enter," she called out brusquely.

Smithers opened the door and squeezed into the tiny chair in front of her desk.

"Talk." She instructed, giving him her full attention.

"You remember that device that every agent has? The one you told me to give Alex.?"

She nodded and he continued. "I implanted the device in Alex's chest before he left. I've been trying to get a signal and I finally got one this morning. This means that either his heartbeat has slowed down or stopped…" He faltered.

He cleared his throat. "Anyhow, him and K-unit are being held in," he opened a computer and checked something. "Yes, the Chapel of Madonna of Vitaleta in Val d'Orcia. It's an abandoned building situated just a couple of kilometers outside of the walled city of San Quirico d'Orcia."

"What country is he in?" Mrs. Jones asked.

Smithers looked down at his laptop and replied. "Italy. He's in Tuscany, Italy."

"Tell Blunt this," she ordered, standing up and walking towards the door. "I'm sending in some units for a rescue mission."

"It may be too late." Smithers called out.

"And it may not." She replied.

Smithers smiled down at his laptop. "We're coming for you Alex," he whispered

 **Okayyy! So this chapter is done! I hope you all enjoy it! I had only one review for the last chapter and it really made me lose all the motivation I had, but I didn't give up. So please, please, please, read and review. I look forward to reading your reviews and I need feedback. Also, I'll do my very best to upload another chapter before school is out for the summer.**

 **Night Riders**


	14. Chapter 14

**OKayy! So I'm pretty sure by now that no one is reading my story. Which makes this a lot more awkward, because I feel like I'm talking to myself. Though this is very discouraging and I'm just so tempted to give up, I'm not. I'm going to finish this story even if it's the last thing I do. And, well, yeah. That's about it for my self-inspiring speech. Enjoy the chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Alex Rider or any of the characters, except for Coyote.**

" _It may be too late." Smithers called out._

" _And it may not." She replied._

 _Smithers smiled down at his laptop. "We're coming for you Alex," he whispered._

The Sergeant's phone rang. He immediately picked it up.

"Hello," he answered gruffly.

"William. We've gotten a signal from one of our agents. Alex Rider. We know where he is and we believe K-unit is with him." Mrs. Jones told him swiftly.

The Sarge immediately asked. "Where are they?"

"Tuscany, Italy."

 _What in the world?_ The Sarge thought. _In Italy?!_

At the Sergeant's lack of response, Mrs. Jones continued.

"We don't know how many enemies we're up against. But three of your best units should work. The building they are held captive in isn't very big."

Sergeant William refrained from responding harshly. He already lost one unit. He did not want to lose more.

"I do not want to lose more soldiers Jones." He said, voice devoid of emotion.

He heard some shuffling from the other end of the line and then Mrs. Jones replied. "We will have some of our agents with you. Like I said before, we've seen the building and it isn't very big. This rescue mission should be a walk in the park."

"Yes ma'am."

"Any questions?" She asked.

"No ma'am."

"Good. Our agent, as well as K-unit, can be extremely hurt and on the verge of death. We have some planes ready. Get your units together, let them come up with a plan, and arm themselves. We must hurry. You have one hour to prepare."

"Yes ma'am." He replied swiftly.

Mrs. Jones hung up the phone without saying goodbye.

The Sergeant walked out and called one of the soldiers, Bat of N-unit, and instructed. "Get J, L, and M unit and tell them to come to my office immediately. We have an emergency."

The guards came again. Thankfully, not to torture Alex, although he thought that Dr. Three wasn't done yet. No, they came to move him.

Alex couldn't move very well. Every movement caused him pain and the long, painful crawl to the boiling jug of water drained all of his energy. But that didn't matter to the guards. They simply tossed him over their shoulders like a sack of flour. When Alex feebly resisted, they punched his face and dragged him to another cell, not caring about the moans, gasps, and occasional yells of pain that Alex let out.

When they reached the new cell, Alex subtly turned his head to look at the password the other guard punched in. It was the same one they used to open his old cell door.

7267742

SCORPIA.

The door slid open and Alex was thrown inside. Immediately, K-unit rushed over to him.

A look of betrayal crossed Alex's face and he unconsciously backed off as his spy mask fell into place.

"Oh Cub. Oh Alex. What did they do to you? What did they do?" Ben cried out, seeing the bruises and blood on Alex's face and arms.

Snake cursed in multiple languages when he felt Alex's skin. He was intensely hot.

"What did they do?" Snake asked angrily.

Alex crossed his arms and stood up, painfully, though he tried not to show it, and put his back against the door.

"That's none of your business." He replied harshly.

The others exchanged significant looks and Alex narrowed his eyes at them.

"Alex, please, what did Three do to you?" Coyote asked softly.

Alex scoffed. He convinced himself before that Coyote would never betray him, but seeing him now, acting so kind, it all just seemed like an act.

"Did he tell you that we betrayed you?" Ben asked, wanting to know exactly what was going out, but not wanting to beat around the bush.

"So it's true." Alex replied, feeling hurt, betrayed, and extremely, extremely angry.

"I never said that." Ben replied.

"Cub, we're friends. We're a unit. We would never betray you." Eagle begged.

"We were never friends." Alex looked him straight in the eye.

Suddenly, Wolf got up, walked towards Alex, and… slapped him. Across the face. Hard.

Alex was winded. He cheek stung and he was stunned. He wasn't expecting that.

The rest of K-unit yelled at Wolf. Angrily, they tried to get him away from Alex, but the man pushed them away and kneeled down to look Alex in the eye.

He grabbed Alex by the shoulders and said quietly. "You needed that. You needed something that will stun you back into reality. Your welcome. You need to get your head out of the clouds. Get rid of all those thoughts that drag you down. We're your unit. Do you understand Alex? We. Are. Your. Unit. There's no if's, and's, or but's about it. A unit is family. Family doesn't betray each other."

Alex immediately thought of Ash but fearing another slap, he kept quiet. He wanted to believe him desperately, but how could he? Especially when their behaviors were so strange from the last time he saw them that it all seemed like an act.

He remembered something and voiced it to Wolf.

"Dr. Three showed me the proof. He showed me a video. He gave you a gun. Coyote told him to torture me with a stun gun."

"It was all a lie. The gun he gave me wasn't loaded. He just didn't show you the part where he told me that." Wolf told him.

Coyote spoke up as well. "He did ask what he should torture you with but I never replied. It was like he was asking himself that. Much later, he picked up a stun gun and told me to tell everything I know about it and what would happen if it was used on you. I knew he knew, and I saw no harm, so I told him. I'm sorry, Alex. I see how stupid I was."

Wolf sat back down and Eagle spoke up. "We would never betray you."

Alex wanted to believe him. He really did. Their apologies, hurt looks, ashamed looks, all looked genuine. He told himself that he would build his walls up. It's just that he so craved some friends. Some people he can trust. He needed them.

"Okay, I believe you." Alex finally said, though the others could tell that he didn't believe them.

Snake ran his hand through Alex's hair and watched the boy slightly relax.

"Please tell me what he did to you. You're burning up. Your body is red and bruised…"

"He whipped me." Alex interrupted him. "Stunned me too. Then he poured boiling water over my head."

Just talking about it hurt Alex. And every time he thought of water, his body burned hotter than ever.

He looked up and saw the looks of shock and horror on K-unit's face. _His_ unit.

Eagle frowned. "Why aren't you sweating?"

Snake answered instead of Alex. "When we sweat, the moisture evaporates and cools us off a bit. But he's too dehydrated. He's overly hot. If he stays too long like this, it can get severe. Heat exhaustion can lead to a heat stroke and we don't want that. We have to cool him down."

Snake began fanning him with his hand, but it didn't make much of an effect. Wolf took off his shirt and began fanning Alex with it.

Coyote, who disappeared when Snake was talking, came back and said. "We still have some water left. It's still cold." He held up the jug of water.

"Water." Alex murmured feebly, trying to get the jug.

"Here you go." Coyote said, handing him the jug. "Take small sips."

Alex began with small sips. And it was so cold… so cold. And refreshing. He began gulping down the water.

"Whoa there. Slow down. Don't want you choking." Coyote told him.

Alex glared at him when Coyote held the cup to his mouth and tipped it slowly. Coyote chuckled.

Soon after, Wolf's arms got tired and Eagle took over. They continued like this. When one person got tired, another person took over.

Snake took some of the leftover water. "There's a lot of dry blood but some wounds just opened. I'll clean them up but from now on, you lay down in that cot and rest."

"I don't want to lay down," Alex argued.

"Yeah, well. Too bad I'm not giving you a choice." Snake replied.

Alex glared at him but Snake merely glanced his way and gave a small smirk. Snake cleaned up the blood, Eagle was fanning him, Wolf was helping Snake, and Coyote and Ben were simply sitting there, holding Alex's hands.

If Alex wasn't in so much pain, he would've felt like a king.

J, M, and L unit made sure they had everything for the umpteenth time.

"All right. Let's go over the plan," said J-unit's leader, Cougar.

He spread out a map of the chapel between them. "Okay, so there are 4 doors. One of those doors is an emergency exit. The other three are the main doors. We know that there are at least two guards guarding each of those three. My unit will take the front door. M-unit, you guys take the back door. L-unit, you guys have the strongest members. So Tiger and Puma, you take the side door. Cheetah and Leopard, you guys take the emergency exit. Just in case there are guards there we don't know about."

Cougar looked at the other leaders, Puma and Bear, to see if they approved of the plan. They nodded.

Bear of M-unit continued. "Fine by me. Then after taking down the guards, we radio each other, make sure everyone's okay. There are two floors. MI6 said they're on the first floor. We don't know that for sure though. So two units take the ground floor. Search the rooms. Take out any guards in your way. But do not shoot unless absolutely necessary. I repeat, do NOT shoot unless necessary. If you find K-unit and Cub, radio the others and get out. MI6 said they'll come with paramedics once we retrieve them safely."

Puma added something. "Since my unit split up from each side of the building, we'll take the ground floor and search each half of the building. Most rooms are near the front door so J-unit should also search the ground floor. M-unit can take the top floor."

He looked around. Everyone nodded their heads solemnly. "Ready?" Cougar asked.

The others nodded.

"Let's go then."

About an hour after Alex was unceremoniously thrown into K-unit's cell, Dr. Three came back.

The guards dragged Alex out, K-unit protesting harshly. In fact, Coyote argued so much that one of the guards shot him in the arm. Thankfully, it didn't hit any major arteries and Snake cleaned and bandaged the wound.

After that, Alex quietly left the room with no arguments. Honestly, he didn't have the energy to fight or argue. He was still in pain and his body was still hot although the heat had lessened thanks to K-unit.

So, here Alex was. In the same white room as before. Tray of torture devices were still in the corner. Ropes and chains hung down from the ceiling. However, there was an additional piece of furniture.

A stretcher.

A white one to be exact. Alex's eyebrows furrowed. He was confused. Unlike everything else in the room, the stretcher was spotless. Not a drop of blood anywhere. They obviously didn't add it for decoration. So what was the purpose?

Alex was pondering this when a bullet sliced through his arm. Alex screamed out in pain. He fell to the ground and clutched his arm to his chest, his eyes quickly filling up with tears.

Dr. Three appeared next to him. His face was filled with glee. "You know, the guards are impatient. Don't stop moving unless you're told to do so. Anyway, I saw you looking at my new piece of equipment. Let me show you what it's for."

Alex's heart skipped a beat. What was going to…

" _Whoa!"_ Alex yelled as the guards grabbed him in an iron grip and tossed him over their shoulders like a sack of flour.

They put him on the stretcher. Alex fought and struggled with all his remaining strength and energy, trying to ignore the wave of pain that washed over him. But eventually, the struggle drained his energy. They tied him down to the stretcher with unbelievably strong and tight knots. He couldn't move.

"We've now come to an end, my dear Alex. Our wonderful sessions are now over and I must finish the job that Scorpia paid me to do."

Alex wanted to scream but he was too petrified to even blink. A megaphone device appeared in Three's hands. He pointed it towards Alex and pressed a button. Suddenly, the sound of Alex's heartbeat had been amplified. His heartbeat echoed around the room.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Alex had a sense of Deja vu. Or did this really happen before? He remembers the device from a different time but held by a different person. (1)

Alex tried to think. To remember what happened. But Dr. Three had now taken out a tray of deadly weapons. Alex was terrified.

Thud Thud. Thud Thud.

"What should I kill you with?" Dr. Three murmured.

He picked up a gun and pointed it Alex.

Thudthudthudthud.

Alex's heart responded to the immense fear that it felt.

"No!" He howled.

Hot tears poured out of the corners of Alex's eyes.

"Please, please." He begged, terrified.

Dr. Three's finger tightened on the trigger. The gun aimed directly between Alex's eyes.

Thudthudthudthud.

Alex's heartbeat sped up to an unbelievable speed. He felt as if his heart would explode. Then suddenly, his heartbeat stopped.

"NO!" Alex cried, stopping abruptly. He thought he was dead. He was sure he was dead. Yet he could still feel his heart beating. He wasn't dead. Now Alex remembered when this happened before. Alexei Sarov had been pointing the gun at him. Cayo Esqueleto. Skeleton Key.

"Yes, you're right. Not a gun." Dr. Three agreed, putting the gun away.

Despite knowing that he wouldn't be let free, Alex's heartbeat slowed down a fraction, momentarily relieved.

"A gun causes too quick of a death. Let's use a knife. I can cut you up, body part by body part. We can start with your fingers. Then your toes. Perhaps your arms next. I'll cut off an unimportant part. A part you can live without. Slowly cause the pain."

Thudthudthudthudthudthudthud. Alex's heart beat wildly in his chest.

"NO! Please! Please! I'll do anything you want!" Alex's cried out.

He thrashed against the ropes that held him down. He struggled. Fought. But he couldn't even loosen the bonds.

Dr. Three leaned over him, the deadly knife in his hand.

"NOOO!" Alex howled desperately, tears falling as quickly as a waterfall.

"Yes," Dr. Three replied.

The knife was lowered. It was near his face. His chest. His arm. His hand. It touched his finger…

And suddenly, Dr. Three stopped. Alex looked at his face. His eyes bulged out. His mouth opened, blood pouring out. Alex's heart skipped a beat. What was…

Then he saw it. Dr. Three fell back. Dead. Behind him, holding a gun, was a man Alex never thought he would see again.

The man lowered his arm to his side.

"I'm sorry I'm late." The man said with a Russian accent.

Alex's jaw dropped open.

Yassen Gregorovich was back.

 **Sooo, sorry about the cliffie. Actually, no I'm not. Hehehe. Anyway, so I usually look in my email to see if I get any reviews instead of my fanfiction account but for some reason, the reviews never made it, so I thought I wasn't getting any reviews. I recently just checked my account and saw the reviews. So thank you very much.**

 **This happened in the book Skeleton Key. I got it from there. It isn't my idea.**

 **IMPORTANT NOTE: Summer is coming and I will not be able to upload any chapters. I'm very sorry. I believe I owe you an explanation. Writing stories is a secret that I don't tell family or a lot of friends. Don't ask me why. It just makes me uncomfortable. Uploading chapters over the summer will be impossible because they can check the history and find out. So I will not be able to upload any more chapters over the summer. However, I will do my best to write as many chapters as possible and who knows? Maybe the story will be done. So please be patient. I'm doing my best. Again I'm sorry and I hope you can forgive me. But when school starts next year. I will upload all the chapters at once.**

 **Thank you all for taking the time to review. I greatly appreciate it. I hope you enjoy this chapter and please review.**

 **Night Riders**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hello world! I'm back! And with another chapter. I'm so sorry for the long wait. I kinda died and then… came…. back to life?**

 **Okay no I didn't die. I just kind of lost my will to write. I actually finished this chapter the last day of the last school year but my computer was broken so yeah. I guess that was a plus because I was able to revise this chapter. And revise I did! This is nothing like what the original chapter was like. I'd like to think that this one is much better.**

 **I already have the next four chapters written but I'm going to fix 'em up before posting but that shouldn't be too long so you'll get them soon.**

 **I've been stuck on this chapter for quite a bit, sometimes just opening the doc and staring at it until I decided it was too late to write and went to bed. So I'm going to credit this chapter for the wonderful Lucy-Anne S. Your reviews were short but damn, they pushed me to write and get this chapter finished. Thanks for that bit of motivation.**

 **Maybe I should start giving a shout out to the best reviewers… You guys really are wonderful people.**

 **Anyway, my deep and sincere apologies for the long wait. I really have no excuses to make up for it besides I got lazy. Promise from now on, I'll make a conscious effort to stop procrastinating, write more, and update sooner.**

 **So with all that being said… onwards!**

 **Disclaimer:**

 **Me: Yeah, I totally own this.**

 **AH points a gun at me: I'm sorry, what was that?**

 **Me in a squeaky high pitched voice: Okay, okay! I don't own it. You do.**

 **AH smirks and leaves.**

 **Me: Sheesh. Some people.**

" _I'm sorry I'm late." The man said with a Russian accent._

 _Alex's jaw dropped open._

 _Yassen Gregorovich was back._

Alex was burning. Dried blood clung onto his body. His heart was pounding. His head throbbing. He was in a world of pain and his vision was blurry, making it hard to focus on any one thing.

But Alex used the last of his mental strength to push all this to the back of his mind. He had a bigger problem. He was seeing hallucinations. Because world class assassin, Yassen Gregorovich, who was shot to death on Air Force One, was standing before him, a hard look on his face and piercing eyes on Alex.

Alex felt his body tense up. _What was happening?_ Alex turned his head towards the ceiling and closed his eyes. For a brief moment, the only sound that could be heard was Alex's labored breathing.

Alex shifted his arm and groaned. He had forgotten that he was shot. Blood flowed down his arm and Alex knew he had to wrap it before it got infected.

He tried to sit up, but with one arm rendered useless with a bullet, he could only use his numb left arm. He only managed to lift himself an inch before his arm gave out and he fell back. Immediately, a wave of excruciating pain washed over him. He couldn't move. Couldn't think. Couldn't breathe.

 _**5 Minutes Before**_

K-unit jumped to their feet as the cell door flew open. The tension rose up three notches when an unfamiliar man walked in. K-unit had no idea who he was yet he seemed somewhat familiar to Ben.

Maybe it was the man's eyes, icy and dangerous, or the way the man held himself, confident and powerful. Whatever it was, Ben couldn't shake off the feeling that he had seen the man somewhere.

Wolf's eyes narrowed, "Who are you? Where's Alex?"

The man ignored the first question. "Alex is safe. You need not worry about him."

The words didn't comfort the men. They couldn't trust this man anyway.

"Who are you?" Wolf repeated, his voice low and dangerous.

Yassen stepped out of the cell, out of their view, and returned a moment later with a shiny black item in his hand.

He threw the gun to Wolf. "I am your way out." Wolf opened his mouth to speak again but Yassen interrupted. "Alex is safe. Do not attempt to find him. Once you leave the cell, keep taking your first left until you reach the stairs. Go down, take the second right and go out through the emergency exit. There's a bomb in the heart of the chapel. It will go off in 7 minutes. You may escape and live, or stay here and die. It doesn't much matter to me what you choose to do."

Yassen turned his back yet Ben stopped him."How do we know we can trust you?"

Yassen didn't turn his head. Merely said, "You can't. But you haven't gotten much of a choice." With that, the man left.

Silence reigned over the five until Eagle whipped around to face them. "We can't leave Cub. He's one of us." His eyes blazed with fierce determination.

"The man was right. We haven't gotten much choice. I don't like it, but we have to leave." Snake spoke softly.

"And what if something happens to him?! What if he _dies,_ Snake? How can we just leave him when we promised we wouldn't?!" Loyalty was extremely important to Eagle and he was ready to find Alex, or die trying.

"It doesn't matter if he's lying or not." The calm statement garnered looks of anger and bewilderment.

Ben continued. "If he's telling the truth, then Alex is safe and we have to go."

"And if not?" Eagle bit back.

"If not, if this is all a trap, then they'll be watching us and we'll still be stuck here. If they're lying about Alex but there's a bomb, then we're all dead. We can look for Alex on our way down but we have to go. We have to try to escape if we can. We do no good to Alex if we choose to stay here when an opportunity to escape arises."

Eagle pressed his lips together. "So that's it? We just leave?" His unit's grim looks were answer enough. Eagle turned towards Coyote, whom he knew loved Alex like a brother. However, the man was strangely quiet. Eagle narrowed his eyes, turned around, and began walking.

"All right then," he said bitterly. He understood what his unit meant but he hated it. "We've got 5 minutes left. Let's go."

The rest of his unit glanced at each other. They didn't like leaving Alex but they had no choice. And if Alex was alive after this, they were going to find him. Wolf set his jaw in determination and cocked the gun.

Those bastards would be sorry they messed with him.

Cheetah and Leopard of L - unit glided from cell to cell, quietly taking out the guards in their way. They had gone in through the emergency exit and proceeded to search their half of the ground floor. They hadn't found K-unit yet and there was only one corridor left.

Cheetah crouched and took a glance around the corner, gun ready.

"There's no one there," he muttered to his partner. "Just a door."

Leopard moved to his side and together, they silently made their way there. Cheetah gave a slight nod and Leopard lifted his foot, ready to kick down the door.

Just as he was about to swing his foot, the door was pushed outward with a great force, crashing into Leopard and taking him down.

Leopard didn't look up, and so didn't notice the look of shock on the man's face. He merely hooked his leg beneath the person's as he fell and brought them both down. Rolling over with extraordinary speed, Leopard got up and twisted the man's hands behind him. He placed his knee on the man's back to prevent him from moving.

"Leopard!" The man wheezed. Leopard blinked at the use of his codename. "It's me! Wolf!"

Ahh, now that made sense.

Leopard released his hold and helped his fellow soldier to his feet. "Sorry mate."

Cheetah grinned while the rest of K-unit gave him weary looks.

"Hi guys," Leopard said to K-unit. "Are you all right? How did you get out? What happened?" The five soldiers were littered with cuts and bruises. Coyote's arm was bandaged yet fresh blood was pouring and staining the bandage. All in all, they looked like they were in the losing end of a bull fight.

Coyote shook his head. "No time. There's a bomb set to go off in… three minutes. We have to leave before we get caught or incinerated."

Leopard stepped back, radioing the others urgently and relaying the news.

Cheetah frowned. "Wasn't there another member with you?" He thought for a bit before it clicked. "Cub! Where's Cub?"

His question was met with grim faces and clenched fists and he feared the worst.

"We have to go," Wolf repeated Coyote's words.

As soon as Leopard finished, he motioned for the others to follow him as he ran out. "Chopper's waiting for us outside!" He shouted to the others.

The men set their jaw and despite the pain, they willed themselves to go faster.

They _would_ make it.

A soft breeze whooshed into the room, bringing with it the musical sounds of rolling waves and cooing pigeons. Alex shifted his head to the left and opened his eyes, a sleepy smile on his face. The translucent curtains billowed gently in the breeze, giving way to a balcony and allowing him a brief glimpse of the beauty beyond. Alex's head sank into the softest pillow ever, and the mattress molded itself to fit his every minute movement. He was bathing in luxury.

He pulled a fluffy white duvet up to his chin, tempted to close his eyes again. The curtains blew once more and golden light spilled into the room and onto his face, awakening his curiosity.

Alex put the satin sheets aside and swung his legs over the bed, his mind thick and drowsy. His feet came into contact with white carpet and he wriggled his toes into it, smiling at the softness.

Alex stood up and stretched. He was dressed in a light blue satin dressing gown. It wasn't a concern to him that he wasn't wearing anything underneath. All he really cared about was how light he felt. He wasn't in any pain at all.

He froze in his spot and frowned. Why was he expecting to feel pain? He didn't remember.

He took a few experimental steps forward. He felt so light. So light. As if he could just close his eyes and float to the heavens above. Or was he already in heaven?

Everything was so beautiful. So peaceful and quiet. He liked it here. He hoped he could stay for a while, just listening to the birds singing and the crashing of waves as they came into contact with the shore.

Alex's stomach rumbled, reminding him of how hungry he was, and he wondered what goodies he'd find here to eat.

Alex padded out of the room and into a narrow hallway. He was awestruck at the beauty of the house. It was huge and airy, the natural wood standing out against a nice balance of neutral and bold colors.

A curving staircase led the way downstairs and Alex stood at the top, looking down over the railing. Below him was the living room. A comfortable looking area with floor to ceiling windows that captured the beauty of the rose garden beyond. Pieces of art hung above the various shrubs and flowers dotting the area. Over to his far right, he spotted a kitchen island through an open door.

Alex smiled. If there was any food, he'd find it in there.

He tiptoed down the stairs, wondering if there was anyone else here. If this was heaven, it was awfully lonely. He hoped to meet someone soon.

Alex walked into the bright kitchen, the tiles cool against his bare feet. A light breeze swooshed through the open glass doors, ruffling his blond locks and caressing his cheeks. Alex closed his eyes in bliss and relished the the sense of everything being just fine.

He was about to make his way over to the refrigerator when he caught sight of a bowl of fruits on a table in the patio.

He glided through the doors into the pleasant 20 °C air. His mouth watered at the sight of delicious fruits. Grabbing a cluster of grapes, he popped one into his mouth, feeling giddy.

He crossed the threshold, a smile still on his face when —

"You should be in bed."

Alex froze, slowly lifting his head at the familiar voice. A man in his mid thirties was sitting on a stool behind the island, his face obscured by the book he was holding.

Adrenaline washed over him as the man closed the book and placed it on the island counter, raising his head as he did so.

Alex made a choking sound and dropped his grapes as Yassen Gregorovich stared at him from across the kitchen.

"Oh God, I… you…," he seemed to have trouble calling up words.

Alex's pulse spiraled out of control as Yassen rose gracefully and strided towards him.

"No, you're dead. I'm dead. You're a - "

A wave of dizziness slammed into him and he staggered backwards, his foot crossing the threshold and crashing into concrete. Not anticipating the drop in ground level, Alex grabbed wildly at the air in an effort to stop himself from falling. He closed his eyes and braced himself for the impact, shocked and breathing heavily when a pair of arms caught him.

His eyes shot open and he found himself staring into Yassen's icy blue eyes, just inches away from his own. Alex froze.

Yassen wrapped his other arm around Alex's knees, lifting him of the ground and carrying him bridal style as if he weighed nothing. He wasn't… he couldn't… how could he be _alive?_ Alex fumbled for purchase, gathering a fistful of the assassin's shirt. He couldn't believe he was seeing the man. More than that, he was solid _._ Warm. _Breathing._ He was _alive._ But Alex didn't dwell on it any longer, immediately reverting back to his normal fiery self.

"You - what are you - Put me down _now!"_ He demanded.

He squirmed in Yassen's arms, momentarily trapping his right arm beneath his body. A white hot stinging sensation shot up his arm — the first real bit of pain he's experienced since waking up.

Alex hissed, but didn't let it stop his rant.

"You died! I saw you die! You _bled to death_ in my _arms!_ Where have you been all this time? Why didn't you tell me you were alive?"

When that failed to elicit a response, Alex's face morphed into an expression of rage.

"You bloody bastard! You told me my dad was an assassin and he _wasn't!_ You sent me to Scorpia! You sent me to a _terrorist organization!_ You're bloody unbelievable! Let go of me! _Let go of me!"_

Had Alex been in a better position, he would've punched the man and sent him reeling. As it was, bursts of pain shot through his body and he was too feeble to do anything, much less deliver a powerful throw. So he displayed his contempt in the only way he could — through insults, loud protests, and relentless squirming.

By the time they had reached Alex's room on the upper floor, he had become quite a burden.

"I mean it Yassen! Put me down _now_ or I'll — "

His threat was interrupted as Yassen dumped him unceremoniously onto the bed.

Alex bolted upright and shuffled away from this man - no, this _monster -_ and sent him a vicious glare, having a lot of thoughts on his mind and not quite finished expressing them.

He couldn't _believe_ the man. Couldn't _comprehend_ what was happening.

 _I love you,_ he had said. _I do not kill children,_ he had said. Then what did he do? Lie to him and send him to a terrorist organization that would like nothing more to rip him apart and destroy the last of the Riders. Alex scoffed. Pathetic. The man was nothing more than a lying, manipulative, _heartless,_ maniac.

Alex opened his mouth to let out some of the foulest language he knew when Yassen grabbed his arm and lifted it high, the sleeve of his gown dropping down to his shoulder to reveal a bandage stained with blood.

Alex froze in his spot, staring at the bandage uncomprehendingly.

"Will you cooperate or will I have to put another bullet in you?" Yassen asked flatly. Alex didn't reply, his eyes still glued to the bandage.

 _Bullet,_ he thought. He began panicking. _What was going on?_

"You must be hungry. Would you like something to eat?" The man asked.

Alex gave a vague nod, still distracted.

"Stay here," he ordered.

Alex waited until the man left before sitting up and letting his leg dangle over the side of the bed. He suddenly became aware of some aches and pains on his back, chest, and legs. He took a deep breath and, very reluctantly, undressed the gown.

" _God,"_ he hissed.

He looked horrible. As if something had chewed him up. As if someone had gone after him with a knife. Butterfly bandages covered virtually his whole body. Stitches criss crossed each other like ugly spiders clambering over each other to get to their dinner. So many places on his body were discolored from burns.

Alex tilted his head upwards, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, focusing on getting his memory back.

An image of a knife flashed into his mind and his eyes shot open, startled.

A voice spoke, low and taunting. _Don't you hate yourself, Alex?"_

Alex shook his head but the voice wouldn't go away.

" _How does it feel to be hurt, betrayed, owned?"_

New voices mixed in.

" _We're your unit Cub - "_

" _Unit means family - "_

" _They never loved you Alex…_

… _They were never your friends."_

Pieces were beginning to fall into place. The picture we beginning to come clearer…

"Stop," Alex whispered. The voices vanished. He remembered. He remembered everything.

Dr. Three, K - unit, the torture…

A sigh escaped his lips and he stared blankly ahead, despite the growing wetness of his eyes. Alex took in a deep shuddering breath and shakily looked down at his body once more.

God.

Dr. Three had done all _this_ to him.

Alex steeled himself, shoved all those memories to the back of his mind, and _focused._

What exactly had happened?

He had been kidnapped along with K-unit. They were held captive and tortured by Dr. Three for what he guessed was about three weeks. Yassen has appeared, shot the man, and Alex had fallen into unconsciousness.

And _now,_ now he was here. In a bright, comfortable room, drugged on morphine, and waiting for a dead assassin to bring him his dinner.

Alex sighed. What happened? How did he get here? Where was K-unit? And what was Yassen planning to do with him? He had _so many_ questions and not a single answer.

Alex heard light footsteps approaching the door and he quickly wrapped the dressing gown around himself.

Yassen walked in, carrying a tray. He placed it on a small table Alex hadn't noticed before and moved the table in front of the boy.

Alex looked at the bowl of soup for a moment before picking it up and placing it on his lap.

He looked up at Yassen, who had seated himself on a swivel chair across from him, and gave him a questioning look.

"Lentil soup. It's good for your blood and will speed up your wound healing rate."

Alex nodded and picked up the spoon. Hesitated. Put it back down again.

Yassen arched an eyebrow.

"How are you alive?" Alex asked. He was burning with questions and that felt like the most important one. Well, _where am I_ was actually more important but he needed to confirm what he was seeing. He quite honestly was still shocked to see the so called dead assassin.

Yassen crossed his arms over his chest and nodded towards the soup. Alex reluctantly dipped the spoon in the bowl and swallowed. It actually tasted pretty good.

"The bullet glanced off my rib cage and deflected away from any major organs, exiting through the shoulder blade." Yassen explained.

"Yeah, but how did you _survive?_ You were bleeding to death in my arms. The color was draining from your face. I saw you - you closed your eyes and - and…"

He struggled to find the right words, but Yassen seemed to understand what he meant. "You had fallen unconscious. So had the girl - Sabina. When we landed, there were paramedics already there. They weren't informed of who we were. We were all taken to a nearby hospital. I was soon transferred into one of MI6's holding cells in Liverpool."

Alex frowned. "What did they want with you? Did they torture you?"

Yassen shook his head. "No, they didn't do anything to me. They asked me a couple of questions regarding Eagle Strike and left me there for nearly a year. A couple of weeks ago, I overheard some guards talking about some soldiers and a spy that had been kidnapped. Rumors were that the spy was a teenager! Of course, I had known it was you. I escaped and managed to find you. I was a little late though."

Alex sat in silence for a moment, trying to wrap his head around all the new information. So MI6 had known Yassen was alive. Figures they wouldn't tell him something like that. Why would they, he thought bitterly. He was just a schoolboy.

Alex shook his head. He tensed and wiped all emotions off his face as he remembered something. Yassen gave no indication as to whether the change in demeanor fazed him.

"You sent me to Scorpia." It wasn't a question. It was an accusation.

Yassen hung his head. "Yes. I thought your father was an assassin for years. MI6 informed me of his real identity. I hadn't known who he really was back then. I wanted you to know the truth… I apologize."

Alex's gaze hardened. He wasn't going to forgive the assassin. The man ruined his life and if he had just kept quiet, Jack might've still been alive. Alex glared at him. "And what about me? Where am I? Why have you brought me here?"

"So many questions," Yassen murmured.

"How did I survive? I was sure I was going to die." Alex touched his arm, in the exact spot where the bullet had penetrated his skin.

"You almost did," Yassen replied. "And you would've if it hadn't been for the tourniquet around your arm."

 _Tourniquet?_ Alex raised his eyebrows. Must have been Yassen's doing. But why?

"So, so what then? What happened?" He asked.

"I took you to a hospital. You had lost lots of blood and you were in surgery for almost two hours."

Alex was confused. "But.. who authorized the surgery? Does anyone know?"

Yassen looked away from him for the first time since entering. "I told them I was your father. They asked no questions."

Alex narrowed his eyes, beginning to see red.

How _dare_ him?! How dare him just walk over his father's grave like that? He can't just take his father's place like that! His dad was a kind, honorable man - _nothing_ like Yassen! Alex was seething with wild anger. He opened his mouth, ready to let Yassen know just what he thought of that when Yassen uncrossed his arms and leaned back on them.

Alex froze, the words dying on his lips. Right there, in the center of Yassen's elbow, right over the median cubital vein, was a small red bruise. The median cubital vein…

… the vein where blood was usually drawn from.

Alex could see it so clearly now. The bags under his eyes, the paleness of his face…. Yassen Gregorovich had donated blood. A lot of blood. Blood that was running through _his_ body right now. Through his veins and to his heart…

Alex suddenly felt sick. He looked up into exhausted blue eyes. Yassen, having noticed what had caught his attention, offered him a small smile.

"We were compatible," he said.

Alex let out a breath and for the longest minute, said nothing.

Finally, he shook his head slowly. "Why are you helping me? Why did you bring me here? And where _in the world_ are we?"

Yassen stood up and turned around. "You should rest now. I'll be back later."

"You didn't answer my question!" Alex called out after him.

The man never stopped moving. "There's a time and place for everything."

Alex remained in his seat and stared at the door long after it clicked shut. His mind was still thick and drowsy and he felt a little disconnected. Yassen saved his life and brought him here. But he didn't know why, or where they were, or if he was ever going to go home. He didn't even know if K - unit was all right.

Alex sighed and looked down into his bowl. A lentil floated around in the small remaining bits of soup. Alex gave a grim smile. It seemed like a metaphor for how he currently felt. There he was, a lone lentil, just swimming in a sea of confusion, doubt, and uncertainty.

Alex sighed once more and downed the last dredges of his soup.

 **WHOOP WHOOP! After a year long hiatus, I've finally completed the 15th chapter. I really hope you all enjoyed it and again, so sorry for the long wait.**

 **Like always, please review. Your words are food for my soul. I'd like to know what you guys like, don't like, what you think is going to happen… Also, I really want to become a better writer and that won't happen if I don't know what's wrong with my writing, so please please please give me some constructive criticism. That would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance :)**

 **EDITED: Live-to-forgive, I know I speak for a lot of people when I say this so…**

 **1\. I honestly don't understand how you can live if all you're thinking about is the impending end of the world but…**

 **2\. Please don't tell anyone else that they can't enjoy their lives. What anyone does is their business and no one else's.**

 **3\. Religion doesn't have a place on Fanfiction. Find somewhere else to spread your message.**

 **4\. Your reviews should have something to do with the story. I poured my blood, sweat, and tears in this story and I'd like to hear some feedback relating to it. I'm extending the Alex Rider universe and creating a new story and not one that relates to the Bible…**

 **5\. And speaking of, I don't even read the Bible because I'm a Muslim not a Christian. Everyone on here has their own faith so while your Christian chums might not mind, people of other beliefs find it annoying and it's probably even more frustrating to atheists who already think we're delusional. So in conclusion, for everybody sake…**

 **6\. Let's keep our delusions to ourselves.**

 **Thank you!**

 **Until next time,**

 **Night Riders**


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